Life's Curse, Death's Gift
by SadieYuki
Summary: Danny has kept his scar hidden all his life, but when it burns like never before at the end of Freshman year, secrets begin to unravel around him. Where did his scar come from? Since when is he a wizard? And just who is his supposed brother, Harry Potter?
1. Prologue

**Here's a teaser to a Danny Phantom/Harry Potter crossover I'm thinking of. The title is subject to change, depending on where this story goes. I'm not sure how fast I'll update this, it depends on if I get a good response to this and if I have the time to write it. I'm having a lot of fun writing it, so I really hope I can make this happen! Let me know what you think of it!**

**Disclaimer! I do not own Danny Phantom nor Harry Potter, and neither do you! :P**

* * *

Lily Potter quickened her pace, keeping her stride as smooth as possible as to not disturb the sleeping child in her arms. The chill of early dawn washed over her bare face, making her wish she had worn a heavier cloak. At least her child was well protected; he was all that mattered at the moment.

Lily glanced up the street, most of the houses looking as though the same blueprint had been used on each. Each house stood equal, except for the very last house on the corner. This house looked the same as the others underneath, but was covered by a spider of metal with a large hub on the roof. The bright, glowing green sign could not be easily missed either.

Lily gave a wry smile, slowing her pace as she neared the front steps. She gave the still sleeping child in her arms a light squeeze, and then walked up the stone steps. Giving one more look at her baby boy, she knocked on the front door. For most people, it would be far too early to make a house call, but Lily had informed its residents she would be arriving (though she had had to wake them up at three in the morning, their time), and was therefore expected. After a brief moment, the door opened, revealing another red-haired woman, this one dressed in a teal-hooded hazmat suit.

"Trick or treat?" Lily joked lightly.

The woman at the door laughed. "A bit early for that, isn't it, Lily? You're going to have to wait a few more hours for the candy I'm afraid. But you are in costume, so maybe I should make an exception? If you stick around for a few hours, you can come Trick or Treating with us—"

"I'm sorry, Maddie, but I really am in a hurry."

"Do you have time to come in for a little bit then?" the woman, Maddie, asked, opening the door wider.

Lily glanced up at the sky, the sun peaking over the horizon. "I don't have much time, but a few minutes shouldn't hurt."

Hugging the small child in her arms closer to her chest, she followed Maddie into her home. Lily followed her into the kitchen where the two women sat at the bare kitchen table.

"So, what brings you here? And so early? I'm surprised you brought one of the boys," Maddie said, staring at the boy still in Lily's arms.

"He's why I'm here, actually," Lily whispered. "Maddie, I need you to do me a huge favor."

"I'll do my best, what do you need, Lily?"

"I need you to care for him, to raise him as your own child," Lily whispered softly.

Maddie gasped, "Lily, I can't! He's your child, why would you want—?"

"I _don't_ want to, Maddie!" Lily sighed. "I don't have a choice. You know about everything going on in the Wizarding World at the moment, I don't want to risk his safety. Once I return home, I'll be taking Harry as well. James is watching him at the moment. Voldemort has targeted us specifically, and I don't want to take a chance with the boys."

"Harry's at home? So then this is—"

"Daniel, yes."

"Lily, are you sure he'll be safe with us? I'm not a witch, how am I supposed to protect him from a dark wizard?"

"Albus is going to ensure your protection," Lily assured. "I believe he has already put the wards up. The strongest is the blood ward, and until he is legally an adult, he will be safe as long as he lives under this roof. The fact that we share blood will be enough to protect him."

"But we're only cousins. Will that be enough? Wouldn't he be safer with your sister?"

Lily shook her head. "I wouldn't trust Petunia with the boys. I love her, but her hate for the Wizarding World would not be good for the boys. No, you at least have an appreciation for our world, and more of an understanding of the threat Voldemort poses. Not that Petunia doesn't, but..."

"I understand," Maddie nodded. "But why split the boys up?"

"I'm hoping it will throw him off, and I think the boys would be safer that way. Besides, I wouldn't want to load you with two extra children. Speaking of which, how is your daughter Jasmine? She must be getting up there, isn't she?"

"Yes, she'll be four in January," Maddie smiled. "I think she'd love a little brother."

"You'll take Daniel then?"

"Of course, Lily."

Lily smiled gratefully, and then glanced down at the boy in her arms. "I love you, Danny, never forget that," she whispered, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She leaned down and kissed the boy lightly on the forehead, and then handed him to Maddie. "Please take good care of him, Maddie," Lily said quietly, still crying.

"I will, don't worry," Maddie nodded. "Be safe."

"You as well. Goodbye, Danny," Lily murmured, stroking the boy's forehead lightly. "Thank you, Maddie."

"Anytime. Goodbye, Lily."

Twelve hours later, after Daniel had been introduced to the rest of the Fenton family, minus a few specifics of course, the baby began wailing uncontrollably. Maddie rushed to scoop the young boy into her arms, but Daniel wouldn't stop. It was then that Maddie noticed sharp glow coming from the boy's right hand. Though the glow had been quick, it did not leave without a trace. On the back of boy's right hand was a newly made incision, in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Over five thousand miles away, Daniel's mother had taken her last breath, and his brother had become The Boy Who Lived.

* * *

**And that's it! I have quite a few pages written beyond this, but I would like to hear what you think about this idea. As always, thanks for reading!**

**Peace out!  
Sadie**


	2. Ending Freshman Year with a Burn

**In prep for this story, I have taken the liberty of altering the timeline of the Danny Phantom series. I have not rearranged episodes, however, what I have come up with is a lot more realistic in my eyes. Here's what I'm thinking:**

**This fic takes place as though Phantom Planet never happened (or will never happen really), and Reality Trip happened at a different time. In the show, RT was supposed to be during summer vacation, but then a few episodes pass with the gang at school and then they're at summer camp? In the span of a little over ten episodes, two summers passed in a series of 50+ episodes? Highly unlikely. That being said, in this story, RT happened during a school vacation, but one of those short ones, like spring break. And Claw of the Wild will just have been a school field trip, because honestly, it only lasted a day or two (bear with me, it's been a while since I saw that actual episode, but I do remember they claimed to be there for 8 weeks, but the episode showed two or three days at most). Also, in the first season, Jack and Maddie say their anniversary is May 9****th****, which would mean half way through season one up to RT is in one month. Again, very unlikely. So in terms of that, I'm making their anniversary November 9****th****. So, all in all, this story takes place at the end of Danny's freshman year, and Jazz's junior year, as she specifically says in RT that "college might be a year and a half away, but you can never be too prepared." Danny is of course 14 and Jazz is 17. Good with everyone? Awesome :D Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer! I own Danny Phantom and Harry Potter! Ha! **_*50 lawsuits are thrown in my face*_** …Fine, I don't, geez.**

* * *

"Agh!"

Danny Fenton dropped his pencil, a furious pain shooting through his right hand.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Fenton?"

Danny glanced up at Mr. Lancer, cradling his right hand in his left. He noticed the odd stares from his classmates and the worried expressions from his friends.

"Yeah," Danny quickly replied, picking up his pencil again with his still throbbing hand. "I-I just accidentally stabbed myself with the pencil, I'm fine."

Tucker Foley, who was sitting in the seat adjacent to Danny, snorted at his friend.

As the English teacher resumed his lecture, which was really unnecessary as school let out the next day, Danny focused on his hand, staring at the back with a thoughtful frown.

No, Danny hadn't clumsily 'stabbed' himself with his pencil. In reality, the back of his hand had begun to burn, like a soldering iron had been carving into his skin.

Once again, the scar that he had hidden throughout most his life had begun to burn, but this time was easily the worst that Danny could remember. Danny began to notice this occurrence soon after his eleventh birthday, the first burn happening during the beginning of his first day of sixth grade. He remembered the sharp sensation had lasted only a moment, as most of the burns would, though occasionally they would be slightly longer, or there would be little spurts of them. As Danny continued to stare at his still-burning hand, he couldn't help but wonder why this burn was different and why it was lasting so long.

Ever since he had been little, Danny had been embarrassed about the scar. Normally, he would have considered a scar that looked like lightning to be cool, and he did think it looked cool, but one day when he was little, he had been out with his mother when something very strange happened.

_Danny had been at an ice cream stand, reaching up to grab the ice cream with his scarred hand when a man who had been behind him snatched his wrist. Danny cried out in surprise as the man yanked the hand toward him, staring at the scar._

"_A lightning bolt," he muttered in a British accent (though at the time Danny couldn't have placed the locale of the accent). "And on his hand, everyone thought it was on his forehead. And you look just like the descriptions, you must be Harry Potter!"_

"_Get your hands off my son!"_

_Danny felt himself pulled away from the man and curled up into his mother's protective arms, shivering in fear._

_The man looked at his mother, stunned._

"_But, you can't be Lily, she—"_

"_I don't know what you are talking about, but my name is not Lily, and my son is not named Harry, now leave us alone!" she yelled at the man, taking the ice cream from the speechless vender and leaving the stand and the man behind._

"_I'm sorry about that, Danny," Maddie muttered to her still shaking son, handing him the ice cream. "Are you alright?"_

"_Who's Harry Potter?" Danny asked._

_Maddie sighed. "He's no one, sweetheart."_

_Danny pouted, "But that man said I had the same scar as him."_

_Maddie frowned, lost in thought for a moment, until Danny interrupted her thoughts._

"_I don't like my scar, Mommy. I wanna get rid of it."_

_Maddie chuckled, "We can't just rid of it, sweetie. But...I suppose we could try covering it up with some 'magic' cream."_

_Danny's eyes lit up at the word 'magic', and he couldn't wait to get home to try it._

Now, of course, Danny knew that the 'magic cream' was really just make-up foundation, but even after all of these years, he just found it as habit to keep it covered.

Danny had just begun trying to focus again on Mr. Lancer's lecture when the burning of his scar suddenly intensified ten fold. Danny gritted his teeth and gripped his pencil with white knuckles, determined not to make a scene again, knowing the pencil excuse would not slide twice in less than ten minutes. After about five seconds, the intense burning died down to what it had been before, though it was still throbbing painfully.

"Danny, are you alright?"

Danny turned around in his seat to acknowledge Sam Manson, who had just questioned him. It was only then that he realized he was sweating and panting slightly.

"Yeah," he muttered quietly, as to not attract the attention of Mr. Lancer again. "I just have a headache, that's all."

"So it's not a ghost thing?"

"No, everything's fine," Danny assured.

Sam, seemingly satisfied with the answer, returned back to her work as Danny faced forward again.

Little did Danny know, his twin brother was trapped in a graveyard, fighting for his life.

* * *

"Honestly, does Lancer not realize what day it is tomorrow?" Tuck ranted, walking alongside Danny and Sam after the school day ended. "Every other teacher has given up, how can he give us homework? Tomorrow's the last day of school! And we already had finals, what else is there to teach us?"

"Why do they even make us go to school if we already took finals?" Danny asked, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"It's so kids can make up finals if they were absent, and so we can receive our summer work," Sam answered with a groan.

Tucker frowned, "I didn't want to hear an answer for that, Sam!"

Sam ignored the techno-geek, instead focusing her attention on her half-ghost friend. "Danny, what's wrong with your hand?"

Danny had been massaging the back of his right hand again. It wasn't hurting nearly as bad as it had been during class, but it was prickling, like it didn't want to be forgotten. He quickly released his hand and faced Sam. "It's fine, it's just cramped from writing so much."

"Is that what happened in class?" Sam continued with a frown. "Because you definitely didn't stab yourself, you had been nearly sleeping."

"Yeah," Danny said quickly, jumping onto Sam's excuse. "I figured it would be lame if I said my hand cramped up."

"Stabbing yourself is still pretty lame," Tucker grinned.

Danny snorted, "Whatever."

Danny frowned mentally. He had always felt bad about never sharing something as trivial as his scar with his two best friends. They shared everything, even his biggest secret of having ghost powers, and he didn't have the guts to say he had the remains of a simple cut from when he was a baby. In the back of his mind, he felt like he had grounds not to tell them, but whenever he tried to solidify the exact reason, he could never come up with anything. Nonetheless, Sam and Tucker still didn't know about the lightning bolt scratched into the back of his right hand, and he still had no intention of telling them about it.

The trio arrived at Fenton Works, and when they opened the door, Sam and Tucker raced up the stairs while Danny stayed behind to grab some food.

Danny was about to step into the kitchen, when instead, he honed in on a rather loud phone conversation Maddie was having.

"Are you sure? How is that even possible? You told me yourself he died thirteen years ago," Maddie said frantically.

Danny waited outside of the kitchen, listening to the conversation. Danny felt bad about eavesdropping, but he wanted to know what was causing his mother so much distress.

"Is there any chance Harry is wrong?"

Danny frowned, _There's that name Harry again. How does Mom know about him? Who is he?_

"Are the boys safe then? I know Lily said the blood ward would protect him, but—"

_And Lily too, what is going on?_

"Albus, he needs to know," Maddie said firmly. "Especially now, Harry knows about what he's facing, at least he's prepared for this. But what's to stop them from coming after my son?"

Danny's mouth fell open in shock. _Who would be after me? And what does this have to do with Lily and Harry?_

"I don't care, Albus! Right now, all you seem to be worrying about it your Boy Who Lived. Well, right now, _my_ boy is still living as well, and I am going to tell him everything, and you are going to help me!"

With that, Danny heard his mother slam to the phone on the receiver. Danny let a few moments pass before walking into the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom."

"Oh, hi Danny," Maddie said instantly, facing her son with a bright smile. "I didn't hear you come in. Did you have a good day at school?"

Danny shrugged, "Sam and Tucker are upstairs, I'm just grabbing some food."

"Okay, sweetie," Maddie nodded before frowning slightly. "When your friends leave, I want to talk to you, okay?"

Danny nodded, knowing he'd hear an explanation of the phone call he had just overheard. "Fine. Oh, and Mom? My scar burned again today...only this time it was a lot worse than normal. And it lasted for more than a full class. There was one point when it got really bad, but that was only a couple of seconds."

Ever since Danny's first burn four years ago, Maddie had made him promise to tell her every time a burn occurred. None of the Fentons could figure out why his scar would burn at irregular intervals, but they knew it was not the normal behavior of a scar. Nor was it the behavior of a scar to suddenly appear after a flash of green light, but of course, only Maddie knew this. The rest of the Fenton family believed the scar was a result of baby Danny accidentally hitting his hand on an odd-shaped corner.

Maddie sighed, "Danny, I think we're both going to learn why your scar does that tonight. Until then, go have fun with your friends."

"'Kay, Mom," Danny nodded slightly, before leaving the kitchen with over a thousand thoughts in his head.

A moment later, he walked back in with a sheepish smile.

"I forgot the food."

Maddie grinned.

* * *

**So there's chapter one! I'm really excited with the amount of response I got just for the prologue! This is already my most alerted and most favorited story! If there is ever any question as to my explanations for anything (right now, most questions will probably be about Danny's scar), feel free to ask, however I will only elaborate on what will not be explained later. A big part about why Danny has a scar in the first place will not be explained until later in the story, but speculation will begin in the next chapter. Also, if the timeline I have set up for the series of DP itself is confusing, feel free to ask. I think I covered all my bases above, but if I missed anything, feel free to point it out. Also, feel free to annoy me about how many times I said the words "feel free". (But really, don't, haha).**

**Thanks everyone for the support, and I look forward to your input!**

**Peace out!  
****Sadie**


	3. Ghosts are to Magic as Real is to?

**I would like to go back on my previous musings of Amity Park being on the West Coast due to a very convincing Wikipedia article. Therefore, I am going to assume Amity is in Illinois. Here's the link to the article if you're interested, just remove the spaces.**

**http: //en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Amity**(underscore)**Park**

**Disclaimer! If I owned Danny Phantom and Harry Potter, would I be writing on FanFiction? (Well, probably yes actually...)**

* * *

"Bye guys!" Danny said at the door, waving his friends off. "Movie marathon tomorrow?"

"Definitely," Tucker nodded.

"My place?" Sam asked knowingly.

"Where else?" Danny and Tucker smiled in unison.

"Bye, Danny!"

Danny waved one last time before closing the door. A moment later, "Danny, can you come into the kitchen?"

Danny sighed, hearing his mother's voice. _Time to find out what's going on._ Danny trudged into the kitchen, finding it occupied by his mother and sister, as well as an old man wearing an odd robe and hat. He had long, silvery hair down his back, and a long beard to match. His light blue eyes twinkled oddly over his half-moon spectacles. His human appearance aside, the aging man reminded Danny of the old ghost of Time, Clockwork.

"Danny, why don't you sit down?"

Nodding briefly at his mother's suggestion, Danny sat down at the table, his face filled with bewilderment. Looking around the table, he noticed Jazz wore the same expression. His father was absent, having been invited that day to attend an impromptu ghost conference. His mother, who remained home knowing that this meeting must take place, just looked worried.

"First of all, Danny, this is Albus Dumbledore," Maddie said, motioning towards the old man. "Albus, this is my son, Danny."

"Of course, a pleasure to see you again, Daniel," Dumbledore nodded.

"Danny's fine," he muttered. "What do you mean 'again'? We haven't met before—"

"Danny, please," Maddie frowned. "We have a lot to tell you, and you aren't going to understand it all, but I need you to bear with us, alright?"

Danny nodded hesitantly, then spoke up quietly. "Does this have anything to do with Harry and Lily?" he muttered.

Dumbledore looked surprised, to say the least. "What do you know about them, Danny?"

"When I was little, a man thought I was a boy named Harry Potter, and he called Mom 'Lily'. And," Danny swallowed guiltily, "I heard Mom on the phone this afternoon, she mentioned their names."

"What does all of this have to do with Danny?" Jazz interrupted.

"Jazz—"

"No, Maddie, it's fine," Dumbledore waved. "Danny, what do you think of magic?"

"What do I think of magic?" Danny repeated, noticing a skeptical look on Jazz's face. "You mean, do I think it exists? Well, I dunno, I suppose it could...of course, not many people believe in ghosts, and we know they exist."

Dumbledore smiled, "An open mind is good for someone your age. And it will make this much easier to explain. Now, I suppose we should start our tale with the reason I am here tonight. Before you were born, a dark wizard reigned over the Wizarding World, spreading his control through the means of his dark magic and the sheer fear he inspired among the people of the world. His name is Lord Voldemort."

Danny listened with rapt attention as Dumbledore began to explain Voldemort's reign of terror. As Danny heard more and more of what Voldemort had done and what he was capable of, he began to wonder why this was the first he had heard of this. A glance around the table showed that Jazz shared similar thoughts, though there was plenty of skepticism sketched across her face, but his mother only held a grim look, seeming as though she had heard this information before.

_Wouldn't something like this have been mentioned in a history book or something? I mean, I know I miss a lot of my classes, but still...this is practically genocide! Why haven't I heard of this before? Even if you don't believe in magic, people can't just ignore widespread deaths._

"How is this sounding so far, Danny?" Dumbledore said suddenly, bringing Danny out of his thoughts. "I know this is a lot to take in—"

"Why haven't we heard of this before now?" Danny asked finally, voicing his musings. "I know we're learning a lot right now, but honestly? Even leaving the magic deal out of it, shouldn't I, or anyone for that matter, have learned about a time in history when all of these people were killed?"

Surprisingly, Maddie was the one who answered the question. "Most of the problems were happening in Europe, and America didn't get hit with as much of the effects. To be honest, the cover up was quite extensive, especially when muggles – nonmagical people – were found dead by magical means, with no evident physical cause. What you kids need to understand is that the entire Wizarding World is hidden from muggles. The fact that you are only learning about this now is a testament to that."

"So are you a witch since you know all this, Mom?" Jazz asked warily.

Maddie shook her head with a small smile. "No, but I have family who is. Typically, witches and wizards are allowed to tell muggles of their magical status if they are family. But we'll get to my family a bit later."

Dumbledore nodded in approval of her explanation. "So, Danny, shall we continue? Or perhaps—"

Danny shook his head quickly. "No, keep going," he assured, trying to take in as much of the information being presented to him as possible. His experience with the paranormal had given him plenty of experience in the it-probably-shouldn't-be-real-but-it-is department.

"Very well," Dumbledore nodded. "Though Maddie may have to take over soon. Now, in response to Voldemort's growing threat, I founded an organization called the Order of the Phoenix, comprised of dedicated and talent witches and wizards, all with the purpose of defeating Voldemort. Two of the members of the Order were Lily and James Potter, the very Lily that you have heard referred to many times now. They were both extremely skilled, and proved invaluable in the fight against Voldemort; of course, once Lily became pregnant she could no longer help in the field. Soon after Lily had given birth, Voldemort had set his sights on the Potters specifically, making them one of his prime targets for reasons unknown," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled slightly, leading Danny to believe there was more to the story. Dumbledore, however, continued on.

"Lily and James of course became extremely worried about the safety of their children, and measures were taken to ensure their safety. It came to the point where the children were to be sent away, in order to protect them from Voldemort. Maddie, would you like to continue?"

"Yes, I guess this is where I come in," Maddie sighed.

"Mom, you're not Lily, are you?" Jazz asked.

"No, but I am related to her. Lily Potter is my cousin, making her your first cousin, once removed, Jazz."

"And Danny," Jazz added.

Maddie shook her head. "No, Danny fits into this differently. Almost fourteen years ago, Lily visited me the morning of Halloween, with one of her boys. She was desperate, and begged me to take her son. She knew they would not be safe with her, and she was trying to take every precaution possible to keep them safe. She gave me one of the boys, though she never told me who she was planning on giving the other to."

"So you're telling me," Danny spoke softly, "that my real mother is this Lily Potter?"

Maddie nodded. "Danny, it was the only way to keep you safe—"

"What's my name?"

"Danny, what—?"

"What is my birth name?" Danny whispered.

Maddie sighed, "Your given name is Daniel Sirius Potter, your middle name given in honor of your godfather."

"And I have a brother? That's Harry, isn't it?"

"Harry James Potter, after your father, he's your twin," Maddie nodded.

"What happened to them?" Danny asked loudly. "Why is it that I've never heard of them since now? Voldemort can't be a problem still, why wouldn't they come back for me?"

"I believe I can pick up the story from here," Dumbledore interjected. "When Lily returned home from leaving you with Maddie, she had been just about to depart with Harry when Voldemort arrived at their house. Due to the betrayal of one of the Potter's oldest friends, Voldemort found their extremely well-hidden home. Your father, James, was killed first, protecting Lily and Harry, and then Lily fell as well."

"And then evil adult against little baby equals dead brother?" Danny muttered bitterly.

Surprisingly enough, Dumbledore shook his head. "That is what is so extraordinary about that night. When Voldemort tried to kill Harry, the spell backfired, and Voldemort had seemingly disappeared. Harry is famous in the Wizarding World for this feat, known as The Boy Who Lived."

"_Right now, all you seem to be worrying about it your Boy Who Lived. Well, right now, _my_ boy is still living as well, and I am going to tell him everything..."_ Danny remembered his mother saying only a few hours ago. _She wasn't kidding when she said I'd learn everything. I never expected all of this._

"So Harry's alive now?" Jazz asked.

Dumbledore nodded.

"Then why haven't I met him?" Danny burst. "If he's my brother, don't I have the right to see him?"

"You should have met when you turned eleven, but you declined our invitation to join our school," Dumbledore explained. "Normally, American witches and wizards would be accepted to the Salem Institute of Sorcery and Magic in Massachusetts; however, a special exception was made for you because of your heritage—"

"Wait, hold on, what?" Danny was lost now. "What school?"

"Danny, do you remember the summer before you started sixth grade? We received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Maddie prodded, waiting for her son's response.

Danny frowned in thought, trying to remember. "I think I remember that...yeah, I remember. What I don't remember is why I chose not to go..."

Maddie giggled at this point. "What's so funny?" Jazz asked.

Maddie grinned, "Danny didn't want to go because he had just met Sam, and he didn't want to leave her behind."

Danny's cheeks burned crimson as his sister began to laugh. "So what you're saying," Danny started, trying to speak over his sister's laughter, "is that I would have met Harry if I had gone to Hogwarts? That's not an excuse, we could have met before that, or at anytime even."

"You couldn't have met before Hogwarts because neither of you two knew about the Wizarding World. In Harry's case, it was to protect him from his newfound fame until a time when he could handle it," Dumbledore said, holding his gaze to Danny's fiery stare. "In your case, it was to protect you for the same reasons by association. If your existence became known, you would have been hunted down by Voldemort's supporters, who were still at large at this time."

"Fine," Danny bit, though still not liking the excuse. "So then, where was Harry if our mom and dad...?"

"Harry was brought to your aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley."

"Hold on a second," Maddie interrupted. "Lily told me specifically she didn't want either of her boys with them, why was Harry left there?"

Dumbledore sighed, "No one knows where Lily was planning on bringing Harry, and for the blood ward to work, which is the strongest defense you have, he had to stay with a blood relative. As Danny was already here, the Dursleys were the only other suitable **(1) **known relatives."

"Couldn't Sirius have taken him? He's their godfather, that had to count for something—"

Dumbledore grimaced very slightly. "Sirius was wrongfully accused as the person who betrayed the Potters, and though he is now known to be innocent, the majority of the Wizarding World, including the Minister, still believes he is at fault. The main reason he has not been set free is because Peter was, and still is by the majority of the world, believed to be dead. Sirius is now out of prison and on the run; however, I believe he is going to provide the Order with a headquarters..." Dumbledore trailed off thoughtfully.

"Okay, so I guess I get why we haven't met, and why I've been kept in the dark," Danny started, his tone clearly implying that though he understood, he was not at all happy about it. "Then why are you here? Why tell me now? What's changed?"

"That was what you overheard me asking on the phone this afternoon," Maddie said slowly. "In fact, that's the main reason why Albus is here today."

"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded gravely. "You see, as of early this afternoon, your time of course, Voldemort has been reborn. He is alive and well."

_This afternoon? Then..._ Danny's eyes widened. "That was when my scar burned..." Danny mumbled in a daze.

Dumbledore frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

Danny looked towards his mother who nodded. "The same day Danny was given to me, Danny began wailing uncontrollably," Maddie began. "When I was trying to comfort him, his right hand flashed green, and after the flash, there was a newly made cut on his hand, in the shape of a lightning bolt."

"Does he still have this mark?"

"Yeah, it's on my hand," Danny said, raising his right hand to show Dumbledore. He licked his thumb, and then rubbed the make-up off of his hand, revealing the scar.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "And you said your scar burned?"

"Yeah," Danny nodded, "it burned today during school. It's happened before, but today was definitely the worst it's ever been. It lasted for a long time, and there was one point where it was near unbearable, but that was only a few seconds."

"When was the first time your scar burned?"

"Uh," Danny frowned, trying to remember. "It was the first day of sixth grade, not counting when I first got it. Mom, you said I just whacked my hand or something, you didn't say anything about a green flash of light."

Maddie sighed, "Danny, how would it have sounded if I said you had gotten a cut like that out of thin air? Unless you had heard all of this today, do you really think you would believe that?"

"I dunno, maybe," Danny grumbled. "So, does Harry have the same scar?"

"Why do you ask?"

"The same man who called me Harry said something like, 'A lightning bolt, and on his hand, everyone thought it was on his forehead,'" Danny remembered. "So Harry has a lightning bolt on his forehead?"

"He received it when Voldemort's killing curse backfired, though why you received it as well is a mystery to me," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "And the fact that it seems as though your scar burns whenever Harry's does is slightly troublesome."

"Why is it troublesome?" Danny wondered. "Sure, it can get really annoying, but what's wrong with it?"

"Whenever Harry's scar burns, it is when Voldemort is near, or as of recently, when his mind somehow becomes linked with Voldemort's. This rarely happens, though when it does, it is usually when Harry is sleeping. It would seem that your scar burns when Harry's does, and not for any of the reasons I just gave because it would be impossible for Harry's scar to burn due to proximity to Voldemort at the same time as yours for the same reason. Somehow, you have a link with Harry that is causing this to happen."

"Well, they are twins," Jazz said, "could it be as simple as that? Especially if they're _magical_, it's not really that farfetched, as opposed to everything else you've been telling us."

Dumbledore nodded, "That could very well be the case, however the circumstances of it all make me wonder otherwise... Danny, can you remember any instances where something would happen that you couldn't explain, for instance, sudden pain, or a dream that you didn't understand?"

Danny thought for a moment, "Well, whenever my scar burned, I felt an emotion that usually wouldn't fit with the situation I was in. Like the first time, I had been writing my name on a paper or something when my scar burned, and all of a sudden I felt confused and suspicious. And most recently, today," Danny swallowed a bit, "I felt...terrified...and I could feel pain – not physical, but emotional – that wasn't only about the abnormality of the burning, I was just...afraid. And angry I think, and...for a really brief moment, I felt happy..." Danny shook his head. "I don't know, it didn't make sense at all."

"I believe I can explain this most recent one, though you'll have to ask Harry about the others," Dumbledore began. "From what I understand, whenever Harry's scar burns, you feel the burn, as well as whatever emotion Harry is feeling at the time. Does that sound accurate?" Danny nodded. "Now, several hours ago, Harry was participating in the Final Task of a tournament held at the school this year called the Triwizard Tournament. Harry had been forced into the Tournament by one of Voldemort's supporters, though at the time this was unknown. In the Final Task, Harry, along with a classmate of his, was transported to a graveyard, where Voldemort's current right-hand man, Wormtail, was waiting. Harry's classmate was immediately killed, which I believe was the cause of the anger you felt, and probably also a combination with Harry's hate for Wormtail. Wormtail, whose real name is Peter Pettigrew, is the man who betrayed your parents to Voldemort," Dumbledore explained, answering Danny's unasked question. Danny nodded, recognizing the name from earlier in the conversation. "Harry was then forced to partake in the rebirth of Voldemort, in which he was forced to give his blood as an offering. Throughout this ordeal, yes, Harry did go through a great deal of emotional trauma, which you experienced a small bit off, and you would have experienced the terror he felt throughout his experience. Now, about the happiness he felt...when Harry and Voldemort dueled, a strange and very rare occurrence called Priori Incantatem took place. During this, Harry saw the...shadows of your parents. I would call them ghosts, though I don't really think it would be the appropriate term," he mumbled thoughtfully.

Danny took a deep breath. "Okay," he exhaled. "Let me try to get this straight. My real parents are a witch and wizard, Lily and James Potter, and my twin brother is Harry Potter. A dark wizard named Voldemort wanted to kill us, so our parents tried to hide us by splitting us up and sending us away. I was brought to Lily's cousin, Mo-er, Maddie," Danny said uncomfortably. "Before Harry could be taken somewhere, Voldemort attacked because Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Wormtail, betrayed the Potters, but everyone thinks Sirius is at fault. James and Lily died protecting Harry, and Voldemort was 'killed' trying to kill Harry. Harry's famous because he didn't die, and now he lives with our aunt and uncle. And he got a scar from not dying, which I also have, and when his scar burns for one reason or another, I get burned as well and get a free glance at my twin's emotions. Did I miss anything?"

"You forgot the fact that Voldemort is alive again," Jazz added sardonically.

"Right," Danny nodded. "And that as well."

Dumbledore smiled slightly, "Yes, I believe that sums it up."

"But Danny, you—" Maddie stuttered. "You really just-you accept all of this? It took me _ages_ to accept Lily was a witch, and you're just-you truly believe all of this?"

Danny stared at the scar on his hand. "It explains everything, Mom," he whispered. "The scar, all those incidents when I was little, and even the genetics. I'm sorry Mom, but I don't look like anyone in this family."

Maddie sighed, "Yes, you do take after your father – your birth father of course. Strikingly so, in fact."

"I hate to interrupt," Dumbledore smiled graciously, "however I am in a slight rush and there is one more matter I would like to discuss before departing. Danny, I'd like to invite you to stay in London. It would only be for the summer months, however, if you choose to remain for the school term, that can be arranged. I do ask that you at least spend these two months with us. You would be able to learn more about magic, and learn to defend yourself when the time is right. The truth is that you will need to have a thorough understanding of Voldemort, or at least as thorough as Harry has, in order to prepare yourself for the coming months. We are entering a second age of war, Danny, and you will not be left alone as you have most of your life. People will look for you and try to use you, it is best that you are prepared."

"But if they come after me, and I'm not here..." Danny trailed, staring at his mother and sister.

"Your family will be safe, I assure you. However, once you turn seventeen, the blood ward will no longer protect you, and you must have a good understanding of the Wizarding World by then. As it is, now is the safest time in the foreseeable months for your 'education' per say to occur."

"Danny, I think you should definitely consider this," Maddie said slowly. "It is important that you know what you'll be up against—"

"You're talking as though you expect me to fight the guy!" Danny burst. "This is the first I've heard of Voldemort, and now it sounds like you want me to train to fight him. Newsflash, I'm not a wizard!"

"But you are, Danny," Dumbledore pressed. "Just because you haven't been trained in the magical arts does not mean magic doesn't flow through your veins. You are as much of a wizard as I am."

"Why is it so different now?" Danny muttered. "Sure, Voldemort has come back from the dead, but how is that any different from the past several years? You said I was kept hidden because his supporters were still at large, isn't this the same thing?"

"In essence, yes, however when you were younger, you had the securities of the wards placed on this house," Dumbledore explained. "On your seventeenth birthday, these protections will virtually cease to exist, and you will be easy picking for Voldemort. You would have learned everything on your eleventh birthday as I said before, but at the time when you declined, Voldemort was not a threat, so your training was deemed unnecessary. Now that Voldemort has returned, it is once again imperative you learn more about our world."

The table was silent for a moment until Jazz finally burst.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I've tried to follow this story through, but I just can't wrap my head around it!" she yelled. "How can magic exist? It's physically impossible! There's no proof for _any_ of this—!"

"Jazz—" Maddie started, until Dumbledore raised a hand to quiet her.

"You would like to give a demonstration, perhaps?" Dumbledore asked lightly.

Jazz nodded curtly.

Dumbledore reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a wooden stick, which Danny could only assume was a wand. With a quick wave of the wand, the bowl of fruit in the middle of the table transformed into a mini replica of Fenton Works. Danny stared with wide eyes as Jazz gaped at the display.

Maddie chuckled, "Do you believe now?" Jazz nodded numbly. "You kids are lucky. When Lily was trying to convince me magic existed, she couldn't give me a demonstration because underage witches and wizards aren't allowed to do magic outside of school."

"Then how did you believe her?" Danny asked curiously.

"Lily was the most honest person I know," Maddie smiled nostalgically, "and just by the joy in her voice I could tell she wasn't lying. It took a while for it to really set in though."

"I'm very sorry," Dumbledore said suddenly, starting to stand, "but I must get going. There is much to be done now that Voldemort has returned. In regards to your staying in London, Danny, you don't need to answer now, however I will need an answer within a week. I'll send you an owl ("Wizarding mail," Maddie muttered to her confused kids.) for you to send me your answer. If yes, then I will contact you later for how you will arrive. It's been a pleasure meeting with you all."

"Thank you, Albus," Maddie smiled gratefully.

Dumbledore nodded, and then turned and walked out the door.

The three Fentons sat at the table wordlessly, going over everything they had heard. Finally, Danny stood from his seat.

"Danny—"

"I'll be in my room," he said shortly.

"Danny, please—"

"Mom, I just..." Danny sighed. "I just need to think for a while."

* * *

**Normally I'm not one for mid-story author's notes, but I felt these were necessary:**

(1) – I say "suitable" because I know someone would have pointed out Maddie's sister Alicia if I had left it as just relatives. My reasoning for why Harry would not have been given to Alicia is because she would have been too close to Maddie, and the chances of Danny and Harry meeting when they were young would have been very high, which would have had the opposite effect of what they were trying to achieve.

– My reasoning for Dumbledore contacting Maddie via telephone instead of bird post is that Maddie is the only one in the Fenton household at the time who knows anything about the magical world. I can't play it off to the fact that she's a muggle because Dumbledore sends the howler to Petunia. Therefore, Dumbledore would find it safer to contact Maddie with the phone instead of owl post.

**Sorry for the author's notes, but when I write something that I think people will find discrepancy with, I feel the need to explain my thoughts.**

**Anyway, there's chapter two! I know it was filled with a lot of explanations for Danny, but they are necessary for the story to continue. Harry and Danny won't meet for a couple chapters because he doesn't arrive at Grimmauld Place for a month, but when they do finally meet...well, you'll jut have to wait and see.**

**Speculation on Danny's scar begins in this chapter, but that's only the tip of the ice berg! Plenty more about his scar and his connection with Harry in later chapters.**

**Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your reviews!**

**Peace out!  
****Sadie**


	4. Thanks for the Advice, Second Cousin

**Hello readers! I just realized I hardly ever say hello to my most faithful and fantastic readers, so I am changing that here :D**

**First of all, I would like everyone to give a big round of applause to my 50****th**** reviewer, **thepenultimatefailure**! Thank you so much, this is my first fic to break 50! You get a big cake of any flavor topped with Oreos (unless you dislike Oreos, in which case choose that as well).**

**So, in the last chapter, Danny learns of his wizarding heritage. It was very long and drawn out I'm sure because you all already know the story of the Boy Who Lived and Voldemort, but Danny didn't and he had to learn. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!**

**And without further delay, here's the story!**

**Disclaimer! No, I do not own Danny Phantom or Harry Potter, but someone may want to keep an eye on a certain fruit loop, he could definitely buy them out...**

* * *

Danny walked out of Casper High in a daze, his report card in hand. He had been pleasantly surprised to find that he had passed all of his finals (not only passed, but received a B- as his lowest grade, and an A+ for science), but that was not the reason for his current state. All day, he had been thinking about his newfound heritage and the offer to go to London for the next two months.

As he reached the sidewalk, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Danny turned to find Sam and Tucker with slightly annoyed faces.

"Danny, are you deaf?" Sam huffed irritably, withdrawing her hand from Danny's shoulder.

"I don't think so," he said dumbly.

"Dude, we've been yelling your name from five feet away," Tucker frowned in disbelief.

Danny sighed, "I'm sorry, guys, I'm just preoccupied."

"Were your finals that bad?" Tucker sympathized.

"No, I actually passed all of them," Danny shrugged. "I just...my mom dropped a bombshell last night."

"What's up?" Sam asked, concerned now.

Danny took a deep breath. "I—"

"Danny!"

The trio turned to see Jazz running towards them.

"Yeah, Jazz?"

"Can I talk to you?" she said giving a pointed look at Sam and Tucker. "It's about last night."

"Sure...uh, you guys don't mind, do you?" Danny said guiltily, turning to the two.

"Family comes first, don't worry about it," Tucker nodded.

"Just promise us you'll let us know what's going on?" Sam asked.

Danny nodded slightly.

"Movie marathon tonight?"

"I honestly don't know," Danny muttered. "I'll talk to you guys later."

Sam nodded in understanding, and the two left, leaving Danny and Jazz. They walked to Jazz's car and didn't start talking until they were driving.

"So, what's up?"

"I don't think you should be telling Sam and Tucker just yet," Jazz said cautiously.

"And why not?" Danny scowled.

"Because even Mom kept this from us for most of our lives, and Dad still doesn't know," Jazz explained. "There's obviously a reason it's been kept a secret from us, and the fact that an entire culture exists without the rest of the world knowing...I don't think we're supposed to tell just anyone."

"Sam and Tucker aren't 'just anyone,'" Danny argued. "You three are the only ones who know I'm half-ghost. Not even Mom and Dad know—"

"Mom and Dad don't know because you're trying to protect them, among other reasons," Jazz added quietly. "The same applies to Sam and Tucker, right? If you tell them about Voldemort and everything else, doesn't that put them in danger too?"

Danny was about to retort when his breath caught. _She's right. If I'm protecting Mom and Dad from what they don't know about me being a half-ghost, wouldn't it make sense to protect Sam and Tucker from what they don't know about me being a wizard with a newly-reborn dark wizard on my tail?_

"I guess you're right..." Danny muttered finally, knowing full well of other reasons as to why he had not yet told his parents about his ghostly secret. The pair remained quiet in the car for a few minutes until Danny had a sudden thought.

"Wait, I can't go to London for two months!" Danny burst. "Who's gonna stop all the ghosts? Amity is gonna be overridden by ghosts if I'm not here..."

"Danny, I'm sure we'll be fine," Jazz assured. "Sam, Tucker, and I will be here, and even Valerie. And Mom and Dad of course," she added sheepishly, to which Danny snorted. "They are getting better you know."

Danny shrugged, "That's true, and at least I wouldn't have to worry about them on my tail for two months."

"Look, Danny, you've said it before. There usually aren't too many ghosts in the summer because it's too hot for them. We can handle it, and you need a break. I think this will be good for you."

"I guess..." Danny scowled, still worrying over the problem. "And I guess I could ask Frostbite to help out, he'd be more than willing…"

"Danny, whatever you decide, I'm behind you one hundred percent," Jazz smiled warmly, pulling into the Fenton Works driveway. "But I think Mom's right, you should definitely consider this, especially after what Professor Dumbledore said—"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Danny said, holding his hand up. "Professor?"

"Before you came downstairs, Mom introduced him as the Headmaster of his school, which is Hogwarts—"

Danny smiled wryly, "Not quite as prestigious-sounding as Harvard, is it?"

Jazz snorted, "Right? Well anyway, I think it's better you be safe rather than sorry. I don't want my," Jazz made a face, "_second cousin_ to be killed by a psycho dark wizard."

Danny leaned across the middle divider of the car and gave her a warm hug, "You'll always be my big sister, Jazz."

Jazz returned the hug, "Thanks, little brother."

* * *

Danny, Sam and Tucker sat in the Manson home theater watching _Dead Teacher VII_. Four days had gone by since meeting Professor Dumbledore, and Danny had sent his letter to confirm he would be going to London for the summer months. The owl that had randomly appeared by his window that morning had startled him, but after reassurance from his mother that it was a post owl, Danny secured his note to the owl's leg and watched it fly off.

It was also the first time Danny had seen Sam and Tucker since the last day of school, meaning it was finally time to share the big news. The trouble was that he couldn't share all of the news, and Danny was already unhappy about hiding certain details from his best friends.

"Why do we watch these movies?" Danny sighed after a bit. "How many dead teachers can one school have, I mean really?"

"There's only one teacher," Tucker pointed out. "He just dies...uh, which movie is this? He just dies seven times."

"You usually love these movies, Danny," Sam frowned in concern. "What's the deal?"

"Just thinking about a lot, I guess," Danny sighed.

"School's over, what's to think about?" Tucker said, emphasizing his point by throwing a book across the room.

Sam scowled at Tucker's antics before turning back to Danny. "Is this about the 'bombshell?'" she asked, regaining Tucker's attention. Sam leaned over to grab the remote and paused the movie.

"Yeah, what's going on, man?" Tucker asked, his voice also laced with concern.

Danny bowed his head, running both hands through his messy hair.

"_I don't think you should be telling Sam and Tucker just yet."_

Jazz's words echoed through his head as he took a deep breath. "I'm...adopted," he said finally. _It's the truth,_ he reasoned. He just wasn't planning on sharing all the facts.

"Dude, you're serious?"

"'Serious' is my middle name," Danny said slyly.

"What _is_ your name then?" Sam asked hesitantly.

Daniel scowled a bit. "Daniel Sirius Potter. ("You weren't kidding!" Tucker grinned.) At least Mom and Dad were nice enough to keep my first name."

There was silence as the two digested the information presented to them.

"Wow," Sam breathed after a while. "I didn't expect that one."

"Who would've thought?" Tucker added. "You fit in with your family so well. In a good way!" he added quickly at Danny's lighthearted glare.

"Yeah, ghost hunting and a fondness for fudge just about covers it," Danny sighed. "But really, looking back, I don't look like anyone in that family. Jazz looks just like Mom, and the only thing I have in common with anyone is my dad's hair color, and even that's common. I don't have the same eye color as any of them, and in all of the family photos I've seen of before I was born I have never seen one with Mom pregnant with me. I don't know how I missed it really."

"Well, at least we solved the mystery of why you're the only non-genius in the Fenton household," Tucker joked.

"I resent that!" Danny scowled. "Ghost fighting takes up all my time. If I had a chance to study I'd actually do well!"

"Wait a minute, Danny," Sam started suddenly. "Did they...tell you who your real parents are?"

Danny scoffed. "I learned more than that," he began, mentally noting certain facts he wasn't supposed to share. "Apparently my birth mom gave me to Mom when I was a year old, and just hours after that, she...I think it was a car crash," Danny lied, trailing off slightly. "My birth father was with her at the time."

"So you're an orphan?" Sam said sadly.

Danny nodded solemnly. "I'm not the only one."

"What do you mean?" Tucker pressed.

"I have a twin brother, and he's still alive."

"Really?"

"Hold on, then where is he?" Sam picked out immediately. "Why were you the only one given to the Fenton's, what about your brother? Did no one care about him, or did they just like him better?" Sam bit before reddening slightly. "Oh, that sounded horrible, I didn't mean it like that!"

Danny shook his head, chuckling slightly. _Sam _would_ pick up on that pretty fast. I was wondering why I was the first one taken too._ "They we're gonna give him to someone else, and they didn't want to load Mom with two extra kids."

"Why did they want to give up their children in the first place?" Sam frowned.

Danny shrugged nervously. "They didn't want to, they just had...financial problems," he lied again, hoping the lie would stick.

Luckily, Tucker picked up the reigns. "Did your parents know your birth parents then?" Tucker asked before frowning. "Wow, this is confusing."

"My real mom and Mom are cousins," Danny said, thinking back. "So Jazz is really my second cousin I think."

"So where's your brother?" Tucker asked.

"That's the next big thing. That night, I was offered to go stay with him and...others this summer," Danny started tentatively.

"Does he even know you exist?"

"Considering I just found out about him, I'd say probably not," Danny shrugged. "He'll find out when I show up on his doorstep though. My parents are arranging it, I guess."

"So where does he live?" Sam asked.

"London, England," Danny grinned. "Or at least, that's where I'm meeting him."

"London?" Tucker beamed. "I am so coming with you!"

"You can't!" Danny said, a little too quickly. "Don't get me wrong, it would be awesome if you guys came, but..." _I don't want an evil wizard to spell you to death,_ "I have to meet my brother alone, you know? And, that also leaves the matter of the ghosts—"

"Danny—"

"I know, it's totally uncool that I'm throwing this on you," Danny shied, holding his hands up slightly in defense. "But I really—"

"Danny—"

"—need to go on this trip, and it's going to be awkward enough with us just meeting each other, and then there's anyone else I'd be meeting. I think—"

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker shouted in unison.

"Huh?"

"It's fine, just _relax_," Sam smirked. "We don't mind taking care of a couple of ghosts."

"Yeah, this is important to you, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't help out?" Tucker added.

Danny gave a small smile. "Thanks you guys. And I can ask Frostbite to help if anything becomes a problem, but it's summer, so the ghosts shouldn't be too bad anyway."

"When do you leave?"

"Uh, I think in a couple days."

"Well, then we have plenty of time to finish this movie!" Tucker grinned.

Danny smiled slightly as the movie resumed playing before drifting into his thoughts. He had told them enough for them to work off of, and he had told them the big stuff, about his adoption and his brother. He just left out that they were all wizards...and that someone was out to kill him (other than Skulker and every other ghost). Danny felt guilty hiding it, but his conversation with Jazz kept sprouting back into his head. He glanced at his scarred hand, currently masked. He would give anything to tell Sam and Tucker about all of it, but he would give so much more to keep them safe.

"Just because _Inviso-Bill_ is going on vacation to London in a few days, that does not mean you can ignore the movie!" Sam scolded playfully, mocking his old alias.

Danny looked up from his hand and grinned before turning his attention to the movie.

"_Mom and Dad don't know because you're trying to protect them, among other reasons. The same applies to Sam and Tucker, right? If you tell them about Voldemort and everything else, doesn't that put them in danger too?"_

_I'm sorry I can't tell you guys,_ Danny thought sadly. _I will someday, I promise._

* * *

**And that's the end of chapter three! It's shorter than chapter two, but not nearly as expositional, so that makes up for it I guess.**

**First of all, Danny's A+ in science really isn't that farfetched because in the episode Frightmare, he says he has an A+. Despite this being said in a dream, he says it as though it were fact, while he is a bit confused (and happy) about the rest of the dream, so we can assume he is in fact acing science. He better be acing science if he wants to be an astronaut! :D**

**As you're probably beginning to realize, Sam and Tucker don't have a major role in this story, but I'm not writing them off, they'll still be there. In the next chapter, Danny's off to London! Again, don't expect Danny and Harry to meet just yet as it is only the beginning of summer so Harry is still at the Dursleys, but they're meeting will come, and it will be...interesting, to say the least.**

**As always, if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them! I look forward to your reviews!**

**Peace out!  
****Sadie**


	5. Resized Luggage and Too Many Redheads

**Hello everyone!**

**First of all, I want to apologize profusely for the lateness of this chapter. I planned on this going up around a month ago, but certain personal circumstances prevented me from focusing on this. Long story short, one of my best friends has been in a coma, but very recently he woke up. During his coma, it was an emotional roller coaster for everyone involved, including myself. In addition to this, within the last two months, the junior class (one grade below me) has lost two students, one in a bike accident, the other in his sleep. I knew one of them pretty well, but the entire mood of the school has shifted. It's been hard to get back on track. Anyway, everything is fine now and I can resume with focusing on this story. Again, sorry for the wait!**

**Second, I don't know if updates are going to come at the pace I originally planned, mostly because graduation is around the corner, and I still need to write a speech! Yay procrastination. Plus, college will be starting soon...fear not! I will not, I repeat: will NOT, give up on this story.**

**Third, FanFiction won't let me use my asterisks as page breaks anymore T-T**

**Alright, so, I guess that's it for now :)**

**Disclaimer! I wish I owned Danny Phantom and Harry Potter, but alas, I do not.**

* * *

Danny sat on his suitcase as he attempted to force the zipper around the luggage. In hindsight, maybe he didn't need all of the spare ghost hunting equipment—he _was_ half-ghost after all—but always better safe than sorry. Besides, he didn't feel up to sharing his biggest secret with someone he hardly knows, may he be blood or not.

Sliding off his bag, he heard a knock, followed by his sister's head poking through the door.

"All packed?" she asked, walking into the room.

"Yes, Mother," Danny frowned playfully. "Nice to see you knocking for a change."

Jazz shrugged, sitting on Danny's bed next to his suitcase. She gave it an odd glance. "It's like you're going to college," she said after a while.

Danny snorted. "_There's_ irony," he said wryly. "High school slacker goes to college before genius older sister."

"I'm serious though, this could be the last time I see you for a year," Jazz said softly.

Danny gazed at her, "I'm only going for the summer, Jazz."

"But they want you to go for the school year too, and who's to say you won't change your mind after being there?"

"Well, Vlad wants me to be his evil apprentice, but I'm not about to bow to his will anytime soon," Danny assured before frowning. "Does Vlad know about this?"

"About your London excursion? I don't think so," Jazz frowned. "It would probably be a bad idea to clue him in."

Danny shoved his suitcase off his bed and rolled it near his door. "He probably already knows. I'm pretty sure he's got cameras on our house, if not _in_ the house."

Jazz looked aghast. "Fruit loop," she muttered. "In other ghost-related news, did you talk to Frostbite?"

"Uh huh," Danny nodded. "The ghost thing is all set...I hope."

"Mom's telling Dad about everything when he comes home tomorrow," she said after a bit.

Danny sighed, saddened he wouldn't see his dad before he left for London. "I still don't even know _how_ I'm getting there. I haven't seen a plane ticket, for which I would definitely need a passport, which I don't have—"

"Danny! Your ride is here!"

Danny pulled his suitcase closer to himself as he heard his mother's call. "Guess I'm leaving then. See you in two months."

Jazz slid off of the bed and wrapped Danny in a long hug, "Be careful, little brother."

Danny nodded, a small smile on his face.

He turned to leave his room with a heavy sigh, pulling his overstuffed suitcase behind him. Each step Danny ventured was followed by an obnoxious thump as his suitcase trailed behind him. Thankfully, the less-than-graceful descent was muffled by some rather animated chatter coming from his kitchen. Danny pulled his suitcase behind him, hoping to find the source of the excited conversation.

Danny was not disappointed as he found his mother, looking exasperated yet cheerful, speaking with a man with flaming red hair. The man was talking vivaciously about the toaster he was currently holding in his hand.

"A toaster, you say?" he was saying brightly in a British accent. _If I get an accent from this trip, I will never hear the end of it,_ Danny thought dryly. "I was more under the impression that it was a hand warmer; I always thought it was a malfunction of sorts when it would be scorching hot."

Danny snorted at that, _A hand warmer? That's worse than putting a knife in a toaster._

The man turned to face Danny, whose face now reddened in embarrassment. "Ah yes, you must be Danny! Albus was right, you do look so much like Harry," the man rushed, hurrying over to Danny. He promptly stuck out his hand which Danny took gingerly (no pun intended). "I'm Arthur Weasley, I've been sent to pick you up."

Danny was slightly overwhelmed, Mr. Weasley's exuberant nature and his decidedly odd choice of clothes proving to be quite the combination.

"Arthur will be bringing you to...well, I guess he's not really allowed to say, but you'll be where Harry is going, which is the important thing," Maddie explained to her somewhat dazed son.

"Uh, how exactly are we getting there?" Danny asked hesitantly, never having heard a car arrive. When _did_ Mr. Weasley arrive?

Mr. Weasley frowned, very uncharacteristically in Danny's opinion. So far, Mr. Weasley had displayed a very cheerful disposition, and the frown didn't seem right with him. It was almost like watching Tucker willingly put lettuce on his burger.

"That was a bit of a dilemma. We were hoping to go by floo powder, however we believe that the fireplaces are being watched, and we can't afford to let them know about you yet," Mr. Weasley began, leaving Danny confused over the 'flew powder' comment. "A portkey is out of the question as well as we would have to get approval, and it just isn't worth it to use an unauthorized portkey for this." Danny froze slightly, seeing an odd flash of silver at the odd word 'portkey,' feeling a troubling sense of fear that he couldn't place at all. He glanced at his mother for an explanation of the unknown words, but Maddie only shrugged in response. "And seeing as you don't have a broom," Mr. Weasley continued, oblivious to the confusion of the two Fentons, "we'll have to Apparate."

"Apparate?" Danny asked.

"It's basically teleporting from one spot to another," Mr. Weasley explained. "Technically, wizards must have a license to Apparate as nasty things tend to happen to those who are inexperienced, so we are going to Side-Along Apparate."

Danny nodded, _So instead of a driver's license, wizards get teleportation licenses. Awesome._

Mr. Weasley looked beyond Danny to see his suitcase. "Why don't I shrink that to make the load a little bit lighter?" Without waiting for confirmation, Mr. Weasley pulled out his own wand, and with a slight wave, his suitcase shrunk to the size of a quarter. Danny sighed, _It would have been nice to do that originally._ Danny picked up the doll-sized suitcase and slipped it into his pocket. "So I guess we're ready to go?"

Danny nodded, turning to face his mother. "Bye, Mom," Danny said carefully. Ever since Dumbledore's appearance, his relationship with his mother had been strained, but after days of thinking the entire situation over, Danny and his mother's relationship had almost been fully restored.

"Bye, sweetie," Maddie returned, hugging Danny tightly. "Have fun."

"Uh huh," Danny acknowledged briefly before turning towards Mr. Weasley. "So, uh, how does this work?"

Mr. Weasley held out an arm. "Just hold on tight to my arm," he said.

Danny looked at him skeptically before gripping the man's arm with what he hoped wasn't too much pressure.

"Ready?" the red haired man asked. Danny nodded hesitantly. "Alright then, on the count of three. One, two—"

Danny suddenly felt a suffocating force surround him, pressure squeezing him from all sides. It took all of his self restraint to reign in his ghost powers, his reflexes almost taking over. It was like being sucked into a dime-sized Fenton Thermos.

Almost immediately the pressure was gone, and Danny exhaled a large breath, not realizing until that moment that he had been holding his breath from the pressure. He stumbled slightly, only his grip on Mr. Weasley keeping him steady. Danny panicked quickly, noticing the sudden blackness before realizing stupidly that his eyes were closed. Opening them, he found that it was not noon like it had been at his house, but they were now outside on a street in the early evening. Danny released Mr. Weasley's arm as he turned to get a better view of the area.

"Where are we?" Danny asked curiously, glancing at the silent plaza. He looked at the building in front of him, noting with confusion that the building seemed to skip number twelve.

"Welcome to London, Danny," Mr. Weasley said brightly, pulling Danny out of his thoughts. "Why don't we get inside, I'm sure everyone is waiting to meet you." Danny paled slightly, _Everyone? How many is that implying exactly?_ Mr. Weasley chuckled, seeing Danny's discomfort. "Don't worry," he assured. "Right now, only my wife Molly and a few of my children are here at the moment. The others are off and busy with work and such. I had the day off today, otherwise Molly would have gotten you. Oh, and of course Sirius is here, as this is his house."

Danny looked up at Mr. Weasley. "That's my godfather, right?"

Mr. Weasley nodded while digging through his pockets for something. "Aha! There we are!" he cheered, pulling out a slip of paper from his pocket. The paper looked more like construction paper as it was much thicker than paper he would normally use for schoolwork and such. "Read this, but don't say it out loud."

Danny frowned at the odd request, but took the small slip of paper without fuss. He glanced at it, seeing the thin, neat handwriting scrawled on it. It read _"The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London."_

Danny looked up at the building again in confusion. "Wait a minute, there is no number twel—" Danny's voice hitched as he saw the number "12" staring back at him in old clouded silver. "That was _not_ there before," Danny stated firmly, glaring resolutely at the building number.

"It's always been there, but now you can see it," Mr. Weasley explained vaguely. "Alright, let's head in."

Danny followed Mr. Weasley up the small set of stairs in front of the door to number 12 and, after glaring at the silver numbers, followed him through the door.

Mr. Weasley led him through the front hallway, the dark and dingy décor unsettling to the young halfa. He heard a slight commotion from the room ahead, steadily growing in volume as the pair approached.

"I don't care about your bloody licenses, stop _doing_ that!"

"But it's so much more convenient—"

"—than _walking _around everywhere."

"Your leg muscles are going to die if you never use them."

"Fred_, stop!_"

Danny entered the kitchen behind Mr. Weasley to find a sea of red hair. Looking around, Danny saw three ginger boys, all quite tall and lanky, a young girl with silky hair, and a woman with large, bushy red hair scowling at two of the boys, who happened to be identical twins.

The girl looked over at the two new faces and pouted. "Dad, will you _please_ stop those two?"

Mr. Weasley only sighed, "They are of age and they do have their license, so they are within their rights to Apparate."

"See, even Dad agrees," one of the twins smirked.

The girl shook her head, obviously peeved by the whole situation. "If you two splinch yourselves, no one is going to come to your rescue."

"They'd probably just end up trading limbs," the youngest boy scowled, jumping as one of the twins appeared behind him to scare him.

"Arthur!" the woman said, beaming at Mr. Weasley and Danny. "Glad to see you back safe and sound," she smiled, making her way over to the two. "And this must be Danny, how are you, dear?"

"Fine," he said briefly, a bit overwhelmed by the antics in the kitchen at the moment.

The woman seemed to notice his concerns. "Don't mind them, Fred and George recently got their Apparation licenses and have been _abusing_ their privileges," she stressed, glaring at the two twins who cowered slightly at the stare. "I'm Molly Weasley, by the way, Arthur's my husband. These are my children, you see Fred and George already. That's Ron," she pointed to the youngest of the boys, who still looked peeved about Fred and George's antics. "And my daughter, Ginny," the young girl waved.

"I'm Danny," Danny said shyly, looking between everyone.

Fred (or George, Danny had no way of knowing yet), glanced at him and smirked. "Well, I can see why Dumbledore said they are twins, but as a twin, I must disagree. They look _nothing_ alike."

"You don't have to be identical twins to be twins, idiot," Ginny scowled at her brother. "And Dumbledore was right, Danny and Harry do look alike. They are brothers, so they obviously share similar qualities."

The Weasley siblings stared closely at Danny, as if waiting for him to respond.

"Uh…" Danny started dumbly, "what do you want me to say? I've never seen Harry. People keep saying we look similar, but I have no idea. You all look similar to me."

"You _do_ look a bit like Harry," Ron said slowly, scrutinizing Danny's appearance.

"But he doesn't have glasses," Ginny pointed out, "or green eyes."

Danny jumped when Fred, or George, appeared suddenly in front of him. Danny stepped back a bit in nervousness.

The twin frowned. "He had green eyes just now, but now they're blue again."

Danny paled, realizing his eyes must have flashed in his surprise. He didn't want his secret exposed this early in the game having just met these people. He hadn't even met his brother yet.

"Probably a trick of the light," Danny tried, hoping the topic would drop.

The twin in front of him shrugged. "You don't have a scar either," he added.

_That you can see, anyway,_ Danny thought cautiously.

"Well of course he doesn't," Ron dismissed. "It's not as though _he's_ the one You-Know-Who tried to kill."

Danny jumped again as the other twin appeared next to him, already getting annoyed at the twins' transportation act. "Those eyes don't look green to me—"

"They were green before, alright?"

"Maybe you need to get _your_ eyes checked."

"Then you'd have to check yours too! We have the same eyes!"

"Fred, George, that's enough!" Mrs. Weasley finally intervened, to Danny's relief. "The poor boy has only just learned what magic is, and here you are bombarding him with your antics!" Danny bristled slightly at Mrs. Weasley's words. She made him sound like he was a helpless little child.

"Sorry, Mum," the two sighed in unison.

"Good, well now, Ron can show you to your room, Danny," Mrs. Weasley said quickly, causing Ron to frown in slight annoyance. "Don't give me that look, young man, you'll be sharing that room with Danny and Harry, when he gets here."

"When _is_ Harry coming?" Ron asked. Danny was curious as well.

Mrs. Weasley sighed sadly. "Not for a few weeks, I expect," she said, to both boys' disappointment. "When Albus says he can come, he'll be here. And remember what Albus said about writing letters," she warned Ron.

Ron frowned further. "Uh huh," he acknowledged sullenly, turning out of the room. "Rooms are this way," he said to Danny.

"Oh, Danny, I'll resize your luggage," Mr. Weasley said quickly, pulling out his wand. With a quick flick of his wrist, the small package soared out of Danny's pocket and returned to normal size.

"Thanks," Danny nodded, pulling the suitcase behind him as he followed Ron. _Couldn't have waited until after I had gotten up the stairs?_ Danny thought wryly.

* * *

**Alright, so I'm thinking one more chapter until the fated meeting of Danny and Harry. Which means…Danny meets Hermione next chapter! Once Danny and Harry meet, things will really get under way, but I can't skip any of this stuff because there is technically a month of the summer that goes by before Harry ends up at Grimmauld Place.**

**Once again, I apologize profusely for the lateness, and I thank everyone who has supported this story so far!**

**I am always open to questions if you have them, and reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading!**

**Peace out!  
****Sadie**


	6. A Namesake Heart to Heart

**Oh my gosh, I am so so so sorry that I have kept you all waiting for so long! I can't believe it's been 4 months! ... Wait, what's that? ... You mean it's not 2010 anymore?**

**Well, shit.**

**So it's really been almost a year and a half now, and I cannot apologize enough for how long I have made you all wait. There are a couple things I need to apologize for. The first of which is obviously for how long you've all had to wait for this chapter. The second is that the meeting of Hermione and Harry will be delayed a few chapters. With the timeline I have now, Danny will meet Hermione in the next chapter, and Harry will be later yet. I'm sorry, but the things that have to occur before that are necessary!**

**Third thing: since college has started up again, I won't have as much time to work as I would like to. Thankfully this summer did wonders on this story (planning, and writing, and other such stuff), so I still feel good about this story.**

**~ ~ I'd also like to take a moment to remember those who lost their lives 10 years ago. 9/11/01 Never Forget ~ ~**

**Without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, my name would be Jo. And if I owned Danny Phantom, we'd be on season 8 by now.**

* * *

~July 1st continued~

Danny followed Ron out of the kitchen into the dark hallway he had first passed through on his way inside. Now that he stopped to take in his surroundings, he couldn't have been more disturbed by what he saw. The moth-eaten curtains were old and dingy, covering what he assumed to be a door to another room. There was a grotesque umbrella stand that even Sam would never have put in her room—it looked like the leg of a swamp creature of some kind had been cut off and stuffed for decoration.

Making their way up the shrouded staircase, Danny bit back a yell as he looked at the severed heads hanging like plaques on the wall. They looked like human heads gone horribly wrong, with over-sized eyes, short-snouted noses, and wide-pointed ears. Ron glanced back, hearing Danny's strangled noise of surprise. "Yeah, those are quite the sight, aren't they?" Ron said with disgust. "Sirius said it's some sort of family tradition for house elves to have their heads put on the wall when they aren't fit to serve anymore."

"House elves?" Danny asked.

"Servants would be the best way to put it. Don't let Hermione hear you say that, mind you," Ron added hastily, "but it's as close to the truth as you'll get."

"Hermione?"

"Harry and mine's best mate," Ron explained. "You'll meet her later. I think Mum said she'd be here."

Danny nodded, though Ron didn't notice because he was already facing forward again. Danny's suitcase caught on one of the steps, and he gave a mighty tug on the case, pulling it free and continuing to follow Ron up the stairs. "So out of curiosity, how many people will I be meeting before I actually meet my brother?"

Ron shrugged as the pair made their way onto the second-floor landing. The first door on the right was wide open. Ron muttered a curse under his breath, and mentioned something about a "creature" and forgetting to close doors.

"This is ours," Ron said, nodding into the open room. Danny pulled his luggage behind him into the room, giving it a tentative glance. Ron leaned against the door frame, letting Danny observe the room. "Mum'll have dinner ready soon," he said as Danny heaved his case onto an open bed.

"Dinner?" Danny asked. "You mean lunch."

Ron gave him an odd look. "It's just past six."

Danny flushed. "Uh, right, time difference. Forgot."

Ron nodded. There was silence for a moment until Ron spoke up again, "So you're really Harry's brother?"

"People keep saying that," Danny sighed, unzipping his suitcase.

"You sound like that's a bad thing," Ron frowned.

"I've never even met the guy," Danny huffed, abandoning his case and looking at Ron. "What do you want me to say? 'Harry's such a cool guy! Harry's the best! I couldn't ask for a better brother!' For all I know, he could be an arrogant, stuck-up jerk, or he could be a shy and geeky bookworm. Cut me some slack, I'm new to all of this. One week ago, I didn't have a brother, I wasn't a wizard, and I definitely wasn't planning on vacationing to London for the summer."

Ron didn't respond and frowned at Danny as he continued to unpack.

"How much have you been told?" Ron asked finally.

"Huh?" Danny asked, pausing in his unpacking again. "About what?"

"Everything."

Danny snorted, "_That's_ specific. Well, I don't know any magic yet. I know about my heritage, I know about Voldemort—"

"_Don't say his name!_" Ron said, flinching.

"Why not?" Danny asked in genuine confusion. "Dumbledore used it."

"Well, that's because Dumbledore is the only wizard You-Know-Who fears," Ron stated matter-of-factly.

"Why would anyone be afraid of someone's name?" Danny asked with a laugh. He thought of some of the more fearful ghosts, including Pariah Dark, and maybe even Plasmius. While they were widely feared throughout the Ghost Zone, he couldn't think of any ghost that would fear to speak their name. "I understand fearing the person, but fearing to say their name? That's ridiculous."

"You-Know-Who caused a lot of havoc and pain in the Wizarding World. You wouldn't understand, growing up as a muggle,"

"Harry grew up as a muggle too," Danny argued. "What does he call Voldemort?" he asked, ignoring Ron's flinch.

Ron flushed, "That's hardly the point."

Danny smirked quickly and returned to his suitcase as Ron took a moment to regain his bearings. Danny had almost finished unpacking when Ron finally spoke up again. "What're those?" Ron asked, looking at what was in Danny's hands. He looked at the remaining things in his suitcase and what he was holding and balked. _To explain or not to explain..._ Danny thought quickly.

"Just some trinkets from home," Danny shrugged, deciding on the latter. "This is just a soup thermos," he added, waving the Fenton Thermos slightly in his hand.

"Uh huh..." Ron looked at the thermos with skepticism. "I'll be downstairs, you're free to join whenever. Dinner should be ready by now."

With that, Ron turned and left Danny to his unpacking. Danny sighed, stopping to stare at his ghost equipment. He really hoped he wouldn't need any of it throughout the summer-ghost activity recedes in the summer, after all-but he would be prepared if something did happen.

* * *

Dinner, or lunch in Danny's opinion, was a very interesting experience. The twins were still giving off magic displays at every minute, waving their wands to move bowls around the table. George was using his wand to levitate his fork to pick up food and put it in his mouth. Ginny noticed this and scowled. "You do realize you're making it harder on yourself, don't you?"

George had looked up at Ginny to reply but before he could, the forkful of mashed potatoes that he had been levitating hit him in the nose. The other Weasley children and Danny snorted in amusement as George hastily wiped his face clean with his sleeve.

"Boys, that's enough," Mrs. Weasley said finally. "Just eat properly."

Grudgingly, the twins stowed their wands in their pockets and picked up their forks normally. Ron tried unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter.

"Where's Sirius, dear?" Mr. Weasley asked about ten minutes into dinner.

"Upstairs feeding Buckbeak, I believe," she answered stiffly. It seemed to Danny that she was very uncomfortable with the man, or maybe his pet.

Ron nodded towards his mother, who had started a conversation with her husband, and said in a low voice to Danny, "Mum just learned a couple weeks ago that Sirius wasn't the mass murderer that people thought he was for the past fourteen years." At Danny's alarmed look, he laughed, "He's innocent, even if most of the world doesn't believe it yet. Harry, Hermione, and I found out a year ago," he added almost smugly.

"And is Buckbeak his bird?" Danny asked, thinking 'beak' was probably a good indicator. "His owl?" he amended, remembering what his mother had told him about wizards' owl post system.

"Buckbeak's not a bird," Ron snickered. "He's a hippogriff."

"What's a hippogriff?"

"It's a half-horse, half-eagle," Ginny replied, joining the conversation. "It has the body of a horse, and the talons, wings, and head of an eagle."

"Interesting..." Danny mumbled, trying to picture the creature in his mind. All he could come up with is one of Vlad's deformed ghost creatures, which really wasn't a pleasant thought. "So, there are house elves and hippogriffs, any other creatures that aren't normal?"

"Oh, there are thousands," Ron replied quickly. "Goblins, trolls, red caps, dragons-"

"Dragons?" Danny said in surprise.

"Yeah, our brother Charlie works with dragons," Ginny said, with faint pride in her voice.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "You have another brother?"

"We have three others," Ron corrected. "All older than Fred and George. Bill's the oldest-you'll probably meet him soon, he just moved back to England-and Charlie's the second oldest. He lives in Romania."

"And two years older than the twins is Percy," Ginny said with a scowl, her voice so low Danny had to lean closer to hear her, "but you won't be meeting him."

"Why not?" Danny asked. "Is he abroad, too?"

"No, the prat's living in London," Ron whispered angrily. "He had this huge spat with Dad about his promotion at the Ministry and believing Harry about You-Know-Who and he left."

"Git," Ginny mumbled.

"'Believing Harry about You-Know-Who'?" Danny repeated. "You mean he thinks Harry's lying about Voldemort?" he asked incredulously while Ginny and Ron flinched. "That's ridiculous. People are idiots if they ignore a threat like that staring them in the face."

"Most of the world are idiots, unfortunately," a new voice said from behind him.

Danny turned around and saw a long, black-haired man standing in the doorway. His face was very sunken and pale, as though he had been very ill recently but was starting to recover. Before his illness, Danny supposed he would have been very handsome looking, and despite the haunted look in his face, Danny swore he could see a glimmer of the man's inner child dancing behind his eyes, recklessness chained inside of a sullen body. The man's eyes connected with Danny's and emotions that Danny really couldn't distinguish flitted across his face.

"You must be Danny," he said quietly as the conversation around the table disappeared to focus on the interaction.

Danny squirmed slightly under the man's stare. "So you're Sirius?" he said bluntly, unable to come up with anything else to say.

The man nodded, then shook his head slightly. "I haven't seen you in fourteen years," he added, almost mournfully. "I never thought I'd see you again...and, well, here you are," he ended abruptly, looking oddly conflicted.

"Here I am," Danny said slowly. Danny found the situation to be extremely awkward, with everyone in the room looking between him and Sirius, and Sirius himself was staring at Danny with a very odd expression. As the silence stretched on, Danny groped for something to break the silence, but was spared when Sirius shook his head again, sat down at the table, and began to eat.

The rest of the dinner was very uncomfortable for Danny. The Weasley boys were engrossed in their own conversation, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were speaking, and Mr. Weasley was talking to Sirius; it seemed as though Sirius wasn't involving himself much in the conversation, merely nodding his head at the appropriate moments and otherwise looking extremely preoccupied. Danny ate in silence, picking at his food slowly.

Finally, as people began to clear their plates, Mrs. Weasley spoke to him. "Now Danny, tomorrow one of the Order will be bringing you to Diagon Alley to pick up books and such for your studies this summer," she began as Ron started to snicker. "Ron, stop laughing, you have your own summer work to do," she scolded.

"Not nearly as much as him," he replied.

"You and everyone else will be plenty busy this summer," she said, "we have to make this house habitable for the Order."

"And that entails..." Fred trailed off.

"Cleaning, of course," Mrs. Weasley answered impatiently with a wave of her hand. Ron blanched. "Anyway, Danny, Dumbledore wants you to review the core subjects offered at Hogwarts, which are Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Astronomy, and Potions, so you will need to pick up the books for that. Also, you'll need to pick up Potions ingredients from the apothecary to practice potion making, a cauldron as well, and you will of course need a wand to practice spells-"

"Wait, he gets to do magic outside of school?" George asked. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Technically he's not in school," Fred pointed out.

"And people are allowed to be home schooled, aren't they?" Ginny added.

"Well, strictly speaking, you need a permit from the Ministry to be home-schooled so the magic is allowed for the under-aged wizard," Mr. Weasley explained, "but considering the current climate, we won't be getting Danny a permit."

"However, this house has enough wards and such around it that any magic he performs won't be detected anyway," Sirius added, somewhat bitterly which confused Danny.

"Danny's use of magic will be strictly monitored by an adult—"

"We can do it!" Fred and George offered promptly.

"—_who is out of school_," Mrs. Weasley continued pointedly. "We can talk more about your studies once you have all of your things."

The conversation had completely gone over Danny's head, mostly for the fact that he heard he would be getting a wand, and so he merely muttered, "Okay."

"Also, just a reminder, make sure you're quiet when you go through the hallway," she warned.

"Why?" Danny asked, bewildered.

"You don't want to wake anything up."

_Wake anything up?_ Danny thought numbly as he nodded his head. Danny followed Ron out of the room and headed up the stairs.

The boys set about their own business, Ron quickly changing and collapsing into bed and Danny putting the finishing touches on his unpacking before following suit. They were about to settle in when Ron swore and jumped out of bed.

"Whassamatter?" Danny drawled lazily.

"I forgot to bolt the door," Ron answered, doing just that.

"Why?" Danny asked warily. "Would Fred and George sneak in here?"

Ron snorted as he walked back to his bed, "They'd just Apparate in, so no. Last night I didn't lock the door, and I woke up at three in the morning to Kreacher rummaging through the room. Not a pleasant experience."

"Who's Kreacher?"

"The house elf that lives here," Ron answered. "Disgusting thing, he is. You wait 'til you see him."

Danny nodded, not exactly excited to meet the creature named Kreacher.

* * *

Danny rolled over in bed; the creak in the frame didn't disturb the loud slumbering of his roommate who was sprawled on the bed across from him. He glanced at the clock on the wall behind Ron; it read two o'clock. _Which is technically eight back home,_ Danny realized with a mental groan. His stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, and Danny groaned audibly. Though dinner had ended about seven hours ago, it had seemed like lunch to the young halfa, and his stomach was now considerately reminding him that he should have had dinner an hour ago. Ron suddenly let out a particularly violent snore. Realizing that he wasn't about to fall asleep any time soon, Danny ripped the sheets off of him, rolled off the bed, and silently exited the room, taking care to close the door behind him.

Danny made his way silently through the landing, down the stairs, and through the hallway, remembering Mrs. Weasley's warning at dinner. He opened the kitchen door, hoping to quell his hunger, and was surprised to find someone already sitting at the table, hands intertwined around a large glass that held its owner's gaze. It was Sirius. "You're up late," Danny commented, taking notice of Sirius's haunted look when he entered the room.

Sirius lost this expression quickly as he heard Danny speak up. "So are you," he smiled wryly, looking up from his drink.

"It's eight o'clock where I'm from," Danny countered. The unasked question of 'what's your excuse?' hung lightly in the air.

"Touché," Sirius answered with a half-hearted chuckle, pointedly not offering a reason for his own late night kitchen visit.

Sirius turned back to his glass with a thoughtful expression on his face now, which Danny thought was much better than his look when he had entered the room. Danny could only guess what the man could be feeling to have worn such a stressed, somber look of pain. Several minutes passed with neither Sirius nor Danny moving from their spots; Sirius hadn't taken a sip from his drink at all and Danny stood awkwardly in the threshold, not really sure of what to do. The stretched silence was broken finally when Danny's stomach released a very audible growl. Danny blushed furiously as Sirius let out a very bark-like laugh. "Ah, so you came down here for food," Sirius grinned, moving to stand up from his seat.

"Yeah..." Danny admitted.

Sirius laughed again, "You really take after your namesake."

"Isn't that you?"

"Yup," Sirius grinned. Danny smiled too, the awkwardness that had been between them at dinner disappearing rapidly. Sirius walked over to the cabinets and started rummaging through them. "You want anything in particular?"

Danny finally moved from his spot in the threshold and went to join Sirius by the cabinets. "What do you have?" he asked, peering over Sirius's shoulder.

Sirius's smile dropped for the first time since Danny had entered the room. "Not much," he admitted. "Kreacher is getting more food tomorrow while you go to Diagon Alley. Merlin knows we'll need it with the amount of people who will be coming by now." He let out a very long sigh. "No one has lived in this house in over a decade, not including Kreacher, but considering the state of this place, I hardly think that counts."

Danny looked at Sirius, surprised. "I thought this was your house," he said in shock. "That's what Dumbledore said."

"It was," Sirius affirmed with a grimace.

"Was?" Danny caught.

"Technically, the house is mine since I'm the last Black left—no, don't you go feeling sorry for me," Sirius added sternly, catching Danny's sympathetic look. "My family's rotten, the lot of them. That's why I ran away when I was sixteen."

Deciding it was a bit too personal to ask more about his running away—they had only just met after all—Danny contented to watching Sirius look through the cabinets.

"Do you just have hot chocolate?" Danny asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah," Sirius answered, movie toward a cabinet, "I would think. That stuff lasts—wait a minute, do you want some butterbeer?"

Danny made a face. "As my godfather," Danny started pointedly, "should you be offering me alcohol?"

Sirius let out a laugh that sounded more like a bark, "If I were to offer you alcohol, I'd offer firewhisky. _That_ would be irresponsible," he said with a large grin. "Consequently, don't sample anything out of my cup on the table." Danny grinned. "No, butterbeer is more like a...butterscotch-caramel version of hot chocolate. The 'beer' is misleading."

"Sure, I'll have that. I've never heard of it before, but it sounds good," Danny admitted.

"I'm not surprised, it's more of a wizard's specialty. Just give me a few minutes. I'd make Kreacher whip it up, but I'd rather not wake the urchin up if I can help it," Sirius added with distaste.

As Sirius set about making the butterbeer, he looked at Danny and sighed. "When James told me he had named one of his boys after me, I was floored," he began nostalgically. Danny watched him as Sirius seemed to get lost in his memories, unable to think of anything to say. "I mean, I had already been named godfather, and to be honest with you, I sometimes forgot that I wasn't your father myself. I loved you boys like my own," he said softly.

Danny listened attentively as Sirius talked. He figured that if Sirius had started talking like this at dinner, he would have been sufficiently mortified in embarrassment, but for some reason, it wasn't nearly as awkward between Danny and Sirius anymore.

"You and Harry used to race each other on toy broomsticks, which I so considerately bought for you," he added, making Danny laugh. "Harry was the better technical flier, but you definitely seemed more at home in the air," Sirius reminisced. Danny smiled, thinking of how often he flew now, _without_ a broomstick. "Of course, you were a year old, so there isn't much to compare," Sirius laughed.

He poured his concoction into a mug and passed the steaming butterbeer to Danny. A whiff of caramel-butterscotch filled his senses. "That smells amazing," Danny commented contently. He sipped the drink slowly. "I stand corrected," Danny started, watching as Sirius's face fell a little. "That _tastes_ amazing," Danny smiled as Sirius laughed.

"You had me worried for a second there," he smirked.

"You must wait until the critic has had the chance to fully sample their food before hearing the verdict, grasshopper," Danny said very wisely before breaking out in laughter with Sirius.

There was content silence for a few minutes as Danny sipped the delicious butterbeer leisurely, until Sirius said very quietly, "I thought you were dead."

Danny lowered his mug slowly, watching Sirius very carefully. The haunted expression that Sirius had been wearing when he first entered the kitchen was back, and Danny suddenly understood why it was there. He waited patiently for Sirius to continue.

"No one knew that Lily and James were going to move you two except for Dumbledore. On Halloween when Voldemort went to your house..." he took a deep breath, "and James and Lily..." another deep, thick breath. "Well, I got the house, and it was a mess. An entire chunk had been blown off. I went inside and Harry was there, lightning bolt cut gleaming on his forehead as he cried in his crib. I gathered him up and turned to your crib, and it was empty. I looked throughout the house, and I couldn't find you. Hagrid appeared to take Harry your aunt and uncle's house, on Dumbledore's orders, but there was nothing about you. I...thought the worst," he said quietly. "I didn't know you were alive until a week ago, and I found out so soon after Harry's ordeal in the Tournament. Dumbledore had never had the chance to explain that you were moved earlier that day before I was wrongfully arrested," he added bitterly, "and I guess he felt it safer if no one else knew."

"Well now you know," Danny said, in what he hoped was a comforting voice. He really didn't know what else to say.

Sirius looked at him with a small smile, "Now I know."

* * *

**And that's it for Chapter 5! I would love to hear your critique, as always. I would specifically like to hear what you thought of the relationship between Danny and Sirius, as that has been the trickiest thus far to work with, but I think I've handled it well at this point. What do you think? Is it believable?**

**Okay, so, if all goes well (and I mean it this time) Hermione WILL be in the next chapter. Based on the timeline I have going, there is literally no chance she will be shafted to a later chapter. Even if the Diagon Alley scenes are longer than I'm expecting, I will include Hermione's entrance, just because I feel bad for how long I've been leading you on. So sorry to all you Hermione fans out there, but one more chapter! I solemnly swear :)**

**As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. If you ask a question, I will ALWAYS ****respond**** to it, though depending on the question, I may not ****answer**** your question if it will be explained later on.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Peace out!  
Sadie**


	7. Wizards Have Roller Coasters Too

**Hello, my faithful readers!**

**First of all, I would like to give a shout out to **mist shadow** for being the 200****th**** reviewer. You get the internet baked-goods of your choice :)**

**Second of all, aren't you glad it didn't take me another year to update? To be completely honest, I wanted to have this out about a month ago. The reason I waited is because I wanted to make Danny a Pottermore account to find out what it thought would be Danny's wand. Alas, Pottermore has not opened to the public yet, so I could not do this. Instead, I used the information on wands that I acquired from my own access to Pottermore to discover the wand that belongs to Danny. I will include my musings about Danny's wand at the END of the chapter so I don't spoil it.**

**Third of all, because I made you all wait so long for the last chapter, and since I PROMISED you I would include Hermione in this chapter, this chapter is almost obnoxiously long. 20 PAGES PEOPLE! I think that's a record for me.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, the Marauders would have their own book, and if I owned Danny Phantom, we would have heard a bit more about Tucker's adventures of being mayor (because honestly, that would probably be awesome).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_~July 2nd~_

Danny woke abruptly. At first, he couldn't figure out what had woken him. He couldn't remember his dream—if he had been having one in the first place. He wondered if he had fallen off his bed, but in the split second he wondered this, he felt the soft mattress beneath him and decided this was not the case.

"I'll throw another one if you don't get up."

His first thought was that it was Jazz, but the voice was much too deep for that. Maybe his dad had returned home from his ghost convention. He _was _supposed to come home today.

Something hit Danny in the head. It did not hurt at all, but it startled Danny out of his thoughts.

"I'm throwing a book next."

That was not Jack Fenton's voice. Danny finally opened his eyes and when he realized where he was—or more accurately, where he _wasn't_—he bolted up in bed. Where was his bed? His room? His Dumpty Humpty poster? His model rocket? His—

_Oh, right,_ Danny remembered, relaxing. _I'm in London. And that's Ron..._

"Sorry," Danny mumbled, exhaustion lacing his speech. "I'm not used to the time difference."

"'Bout time," the redhead huffed. Danny noticed he was already dressed, which he found surprising.

"What time is it?" Danny asked, looking around for a clock.

"Half-past."

"Half-past _what?_" Danny stressed in annoyance.

"Noon," Ron answered, somewhat bitterly. "Mum sent me to wake you. You need to go to Diagon Alley and get your school things." Satisfied that Danny was awake, he left the room without another word.

Danny rolled off the side of his bed, planting his feet on the floor just before he fell over. _It's 6:30am...why, WHY, am I awake?_ He stumbled over something on the floor. Looking down, he found Ron's pillow. Realizing that he must have been throwing pillows at him to wake him up, he picked it up and tossed it unceremoniously onto the redhead's tousled bed. He dressed quickly, and silently trudged downstairs into the kitchen, hoping there would be food.

He wasn't disappointed, finding Mrs. Weasley busying about the kitchen. A plate of food lay on the table in front of an empty chair. Across from the plate, there was a crumb-covered plate in front of a young woman not too many years older than him with...purple hair? Shaking his head lightly, thinking it was just the tiredness getting to him, he looked back at the woman and saw that her hair was indeed a vivid purple.

"Nice hair," he blurted out, before blushing furiously. As early as it was for him, his mental filter had not quite turned on yet.

Luckily, the woman did not seem offended. "Thanks!" she smiled brightly. "I haven't worn this color in a while, I missed it. You must be Danny!"

How anyone could be so peppy this early in the morning was a mystery to Danny. Then he realized that it was not exactly early for the locals here in London, so it really was not that strange. And then he remembered that Jazz Fenton was his sister and she was _always_ this peppy in the morning. He smiled wryly, thinking of his sister, but the smile faded a bit as he remembered she was only his "second cousin." _No_, he told himself forcefully, _Jazz will always be my sister._

"Yeah, I am," he answered the purple-headed woman. "Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry!" she blushed. "I'm Tonks. Nice to meet you."

"You too," Danny smiled. "Do you go to Hogwarts too?"

"No, I graduated a few years ago," she answered. "I recently finished my auror training though, so it was like still being in school."

"Auror training?"

"Aurors are dark wizard catchers," Mrs. Weasley answered, laying a hand on Danny's shoulder from behind. "Why don't you sit down and eat, Danny. You and Tonks will be going to Diagon Alley to get your supplies once you're finished." Danny obliged, sat in front of his plate, and started to eat. "I figured you would want to sleep in, with the time difference."

Danny wanted to mention that 6:30am was still very early, but decided against it since Mrs. Weasley had let him sleep in the first place. "Thanks," he said, taking another bite of food. "And thanks for taking me to Diagon Alley, Tonks," he added to the young woman.

"No, thank _you_ for needing the trip," she laughed with an impatient wave of the hand. "If I have to clean this house any longer, I might self-destruct."

"Is that where everyone is?" he asked, noticing for the first time how odd it was for the kitchen to be relatively empty during a meal time.

"Yeah, we've been cleaning since early this morning, and Ron went to wake you up after lunch," Tonks answered. "Everyone moved on to the top floor bedrooms."

Danny suddenly realized why Ron had been so irritable and moody when he woke him up, and why he was already dressed. He must have been cleaning all morning while Danny slept in. "You should have woken me up, I would have helped—"

"Oh no, I'll have none of that," Mrs. Weasley fussed. "I know the time difference for you must be hard, and even now it's early. I would have let you lie in a bit longer, but you really do need your supplies."

A sudden thought struck Danny, "Uh, how am I going to pay for this? Is my mom sending money? Do I need her credit card number—?"

Mrs. Weasley shook her head as she reached into her pocket. "Dumbledore left you a key to your family's vault. Only Harry uses it now, of course, but as it's yours too, you have every right to withdraw money. Ah, here it is." She handed a palm-sized golden fashioned key to him. "Now don't lose that."

"I won't," Danny rolled his eyes, slipping the key into his pocket. He pushed his now empty plate away from him, and he found it levitating away from him; Mrs. Weasley was directing the dishes to the sink. "I guess I'm ready to go."

"Then let's go! Thanks for the lunch, Molly!" Tonks saluted as she rose from her seat. The leg of the chair caught on her foot, she stumbled, and the chair fell over with an obnoxious clatter. Danny stifled his laughter as Tonks let out a hurried, "Sorry!" while picking the chair up and setting it right.

"It's quite alright, dear," Mrs. Weasley said kindly.

"And just one last thing before we go..." Tonks said, screwing her face up in a look of intense concentration.

"Uh, what do you mea..?" The words died on Danny's tongue as he watched her hair change from bright purple to raven black. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a metamorphmagus," Tonks smiled, "it means I can change my appearance at will."

"That is awesome," Danny praised. "Can you learn it or do you just have that ability?"

"You have to be born with it," Tonks said, looking at her reflection on a glass cabinet door nearby. "I needed to match my hair color to yours because as much as I like the purple, it sticks out too much and we are trying to be discreet about you. If anyone asks, I'm your cousin on my dad's side, alright?"

"Okay," Danny replied. "But why your dad's side?"

"Because her mother's side is a bit too easily traced," Sirius answered, entering the room. His sleeves were pushed up past his elbows, and he looked like he had been working for a long while. "I'm getting water for everyone," he answered to Mrs. Weasley's inquisitive stare.

"And _Aguamenti_ wouldn't have worked, why?" Tonks questioned with a smirk.

"Well, maybe I wanted to see my godson off before he goes to Diagon Alley for the first time," Sirius replied easily.

"Is it really that big a deal?" Danny asked, looking between Sirius and Tonks. "I'm just getting school supplies."

"Consider it a rite of passage," Sirius explained. "Like you are officially entering the magical world."

Danny made a face, "Are we going to a theme park? 'Cause it kinda sounds like we're going to Disney World. I'm buying school supplies. School. Supplies. I really don't understand the big deal."

The adults in the room shared a look before Sirius clapped his hand on Danny's shoulder. "Just wait until you get there. You'll see what we mean."

Danny and Tonks travelled through the London Underground and emerged on a road filled with various shops, but the shops were all very...normal. Where would he be buying a magic wand?

"So, can I buy a wand in a pawn shop?" Danny asked, passing a dingy store with a metallic instrument in the front window, unsure of what it was.

Tonks snorted, "We're not buying anything here, we're not there yet."

Danny followed Tonks through the crowded street, looking at all of the businesses they passed by on the way. They looked so ordinary. In all honestly, the shops and businesses the pair passed by were not unlike buildings Danny would see in Amity Park. There were not any magic shops in Amity that he knew of, with perhaps the exception of the Skulk & Lurk—he made a mental note to ask Sam later—so he couldn't imagine being able to find a magic shop here. He considered asking Tonks if they had gotten off at the wrong stop, but Tonks seemed to know where she was going, so he did not question it.

Danny looked at a large bookstore that they were passing. "Well, they have a lot of books, is there a special magic section there?" he questioned very sarcastically.

"Nope, but we're here," Tonks said, ignoring his cheek. Danny followed her gaze to the building next to the bookstore. It was a very grungy looking pub that did not really fit well with the surrounding buildings.

"Uh, didn't we just eat?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow. "We can't be there yet. How am I supposed to get my supplies in a pub?"

"It's not _in_ the pub, it's _behind_ the pub," Tonks winked, gesturing for Danny to walk in first.

The first thing Danny noticed was the smell. The scent of cooked meat was intermingled with an unpleasant scent of musk and perhaps body odor...it was almost revolting. The next thing he noticed was the clientele. While most of them looked normal, there was a fair share of unnatural patrons, including but not limited to an incredibly short man with pointed ears and thin, wiry hair, an old woman with slightly green skin, a large bulbous nose and hair poking out of her ears, and a pale dark haired man who seemed to be drinking some very thick red liquid at the bar. Danny's only explanation for this was that the man was a vampire, though he tried to ignore that train of thought.

"This is the Leaky Cauldron," Tonks explained to the gazing teen, nudging him forward. "The entrance to Diagon Alley is in the back."

Taking one last look at the 'vampire,' who looked scarily like a younger, paler Vlad, Danny followed Tonks though the pub to the back door. Outside there was a small outlet enclosed by a tall brick wall, with no exit other than the doorway they were currently standing in. "Is this right?" Danny asked, staring at the very solid-looking brick wall. Thinking it might be a trick, he stepped up to the wall and pushed his palm against it. It was still solid.

"Of course it is," Tonks waved, bumping Danny out of the way lightly with her hip. She took out her wand and traced a pattern in the air, as if counting, then tapped her wand three times on one of the bricks. The brick quivered, and soon enough all the surrounding bricks were shifting, creating a wide opening in the wall.

"Vlad's secret lab has nothing on this," Danny muttered in awe. Once he and Tonks stepped through the archway, the bricks immediately formed a solid wall again.

Once Danny took in what he was seeing, his jaw dropped in wonder. Now _this_ was the type of place that looked like it sold magic articles. Interesting shops colored the cobbled street which clearly did not follow any set line.

His sightseeing was interrupted by a blinding glare, and when he blocked the offending light, he found a stack of cauldrons outside of Potage's Cauldron Shop. Next door to the cauldron shop was an Apothecary, with various...ingredients on display, and next to that was Wiseacre's Wizard Equipment. Across the street was Flourish and Blotts (and based on the stack of books in the window, Danny assumed that _this_ was where magic spell books could be found), next to that was Quality Quidditch Supplies with broomsticks outside, and next to that was Eeylops Owl Emporium & Magical Menagerie. Danny could not yet see farther down the street due to the oddly dressed people going about their shopping, and it was all he could do to stay with Tonks and not venture farther ahead. The one building Danny could see down the road was a large white building that loomed over the surrounding shops.

Perhaps noticing Danny's excitement, Tonks said, "Better or worse than a theme park?"

"Well, it has a one-up on carnivals," Danny relented, "but until you show me a roller coaster I'm reserving judgment."

Danny was surprised to see Tonks smirk. "Now it's funny you should say that. We need to get your money."

"What does money have to do with roller coasters?"

"Everything."

Confused by her statement, Danny followed her down the road, still awed by the magical shops they passed. He imagined Sam would _love_ to wander through a place like this, while Tucker would still be stuck at the pub checking out the magical cuisine and customers. Jazz would be both curious and skeptical, taking mental notes on everything she saw but also picking them apart as to why it could not logically exist. Of course, ever since she learned he had ghost powers, she had become a lot more accepting towards the paranormal, so perhaps being exposed to Diagon Alley would open her eyes to the magical world a bit more.

Before long, Danny found himself in front of the towering white building he had noticed earlier. Above the columned entrance, carved into the building, the words "Gringotts Wizarding Bank" stood out among the white. Lowering his gaze to the actual entrance with its burnished bronze doors, there were very small, odd looking men dressed in scarlet and gold uniforms.

"Those are goblins," Tonks muttered as they neared the doors, noticing Danny's gaze. He tried not to stare at them too long, and kept walking with Tonks. He passed through the next set of doors, silver this time, with Tonks, walking fast enough to not be able to read the sign next to the doors.

Danny tried to face forward by staring at Tonks's back to avoid the temptation to stare at the goblins, and this temptation only increased when he noticed about a hundred more goblins sitting at high counters performing tasks such as weighing coins, writing in large books, and helping customers. One goblin locked eyes with Danny, and he quickly resumed staring at the young auror's back.

Tonks led Danny to the counter where there was a goblin available. "Wotcher," Tonks nodded. "We need some money from Danny's vault," she said, clapping a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Full name?" the goblin drawled.

"Danny F—"

"Potter," Tonks cut him off. "Mr. Danny Potter. He has his key. Danny, where's the key Molly gave you?"

Danny dug his hand into his pocket and retrieved the small golden key Mrs. Weasley had given him earlier. "See, I didn't lose it," Danny smirked, handing the key to Tonks who then handed it to the goblin.

"I never said you would," she replied as the goblin stared at the key intently. "Is everything in order?" she asked after a moment. Perhaps the goblin was taking longer than normal.

"I was under the impression that only one key to this vault was in use," the goblin replied slowly. "However, this is an authentic copy. Someone will take you to your vault. Gobrod!"

Gobrod, another goblin, walked up to them and led them through one of the doors out of the main hall.

"I don't get it," Danny muttered to Tonks as they followed Gobrod through a door that led to a torch-lit stone passageway. "Do I have to go by Danny Potter in the wizarding world?"

"No," Tonks answered quickly. "It's different with goblins here because if you lie about anything, they'll think you're trying to steal from the bank, which is _not_ something you want to try. Everywhere else, you go by Danny Fenton, okay? As a matter of fact, don't say more than your first name if you can help it."

Danny nodded in understanding just as Gobrod let out a sharp whistle. In moments, a small metal cart appeared on railway tracks that Danny just noticed were there. "Is this the roller coaster you were talking about?"

Tonks only smirked and motioned for Danny to climb in after Gobrod. He felt slightly uneasy when he noticed the absence of lap or shoulder bars, or even seatbelts. "I'd hold on if I were you," she said when she climbed in next to him.

"Where?" Danny asked flatly. "This has to be the most unsafe roller coaster I've ever been on, and I've been on a broken down coaster before."

"Don't worry, no one's ever fallen out before."

"Well, there's a first time for everythi—" Danny cut himself off as the cart lurched and they shot down the tracks, quickly grasping the side of the cart. His nerves were further shot when he realized that Gobrod wasn't steering, and the cart was just going on its own.

After a minute, Danny calmed down and enjoyed the ride for what it was: a roller coaster ride. His worries about the lack of safety bars or belts took a back seat when he remembered he could always fly if he fell out.

The track was as much a maze as it was a roller coaster as the cart hurtled through forks in the track, first left, then right, right, left, middle fork, right, left...it was amazing that this was a legitimate path rather than a life-sized Plinko board.

A few minutes later, the cart rolled to a stop next to a small door in the wall. Gobrod stepped out of the car, and as Danny and Tonks climbed out after him, he unlocked the door. Green smoke billowed out, and when it cleared, Danny couldn't believe the amount of coins that were heaped inside. There were mountains of gold, silver, and bronze coins, gleaming in the torch-light.

"That belongs to me?" Danny asked breathlessly.

"You and Harry," Tonks whispered back.

"How much do I need?" he asked.

"Well, I'd say about twenty galleons for all of your books, seven for your wand, and probably another twenty for potions ingredients, so I'd grab about fifty galleons. The gold ones," she clarified at Danny's blank look. "Alright, quick rundown: one gold galleon equals seventeen silver sickles, and one sickle equals twenty-nine bronze nuts. Got it?" Danny nodded, figuring he would just ask again if he forgot.

He picked up fifty of the gold coins and dumped it into a bag Tonks had brought with her, and soon enough they were back in the cart. The ride back seemed to defy all laws of gravity as it was rolling up the track.

As they left the goblin-run bank, Danny followed Tonks back into the bustling street. "We'll get your potions ingredients first at the apothecary, then a brass scale for the ingredients, then your books, then your wand, sound good?"

"Sure," Danny nodded. "So, how much money do we have?"

"In pounds you mean?" Tonks asked.

"U.S. dollars," Danny amended.

"I don't know the currency rate between dollars and pounds, but right now it's five pounds to a galleon," she answered. "So we have 250 pounds."

Figuring that he'd ask Jazz about the conversion rate later, he accepted this to be a fair amount of money and did not worry about it much after that. At the apothecary, Danny almost wanted to hold his breath to deal with the smell, and he spent most of the time staring at a shelf housing silver unicorn horns (or so they were advertised) to distract himself while Tonks bought a basic set of potion supplies.

After a quick stop into Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment for his brass scales, their next stop was Flourish and Blotts to get his books. Tonks made a beeline to the counter while he hung back a bit, liking this store already because of its normal smell.

Danny wandered over to the "New releases" section of the magical bookstore as Tonks relayed his book list to the manager. His eyes jumped from title to title, each sounding either incredibly fake ("Cauldron Cavities: Cursed Cruelties," by Phillip Leaver) or bizarrely informative ("The Complete Guide to Bowtruckles," by Bert Haverstade). As Danny skimmed the titles, his eyes were drawn to a bright red and blue ad on the shelf.

**TWO-WAY JOURNALS**

**Need to talk to a friend instantly? Owl-post take too long? The Two-Way Journal is just the thing for you!**

**By purchasing a set of journals, one can write a message in one journal and it will instantly appear in the other journal! You can have a conversation over continents without any delay! Try our test set!**

**Only **_**3 galleons**_** OR upgrade to our deluxe set for just **_**4 galleons**_**!**

**The deluxe set includes bracelets that alert you when there is a message waiting in your journal.**

Danny looked below the advertisement and noticed a little table with two mahogany bound journals, both lying open at the table. Past mini-conversations were scrawled in several different versions of handwriting on the page with other customers' words as they tested the product. One book held black and red inked writing while the other held black and blue. There was also an ink pot and a bird feather with ink at the base lying between the two journals. Also pinned to the table were two straps of mahogany which he assumed were the bracelets. Danny picked up the feather with interest, and noting the inked tip of the feather, tentatively dipped it into the ink pot. After dabbing the extra ink on the side of the pot, his hand hovered over the leftmost journal with the black and red writing, thinking of something to write. Finally, he lowered the feather and wrote: '_Does this even work?'_

Placing the feather back on the table, Danny glanced over to see if his message had appeared on the other journal. To his surprise, the words _'Does this even work?'_ were scribbled into the other journal in a rich blue color.

Danny looked back at the advertisement, re-reading the line about the journals working over continents. As an idea formed in his head, Danny smiled and picked up one of the deluxe journal sets.

Tonks was just wrapping up the sale as Danny placed the journal set on the register table. "I'm getting this too," he said to the manager.

"Danny, we're only supposed to get your supplies," Tonks reminded him.

"I know," Danny said quickly, "but this way I can talk with my family while I'm here without having to use an owl."

Tonks looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess we'll have enough galleons…okay. We're getting this too," she nodded to the manager.

"Would a pen or pencil work in this?" Danny asked quickly, realizing he had only tested the product with an inked feather.

"Yes, any form of writing instrument will suffice," the manager nodded. "These journals were made particularly with muggleborns in mind. Apparently in some communities, it's odd for owls to appear carrying parcels," he chuckled.

"Imagine that," Danny muttered.

"That will be twenty-two galleons in all," the manager continued, not hearing Danny's comment. Tonks handed the man the appropriate amount of gold coins out of the money bag and put a quick spell on the books to shrink them to a manageable size. "Have a good day," he nodded before walking into the store's backroom.

As Danny and Tonks left the store, he thought about the amount of books they had just bought, and how odd that may have looked. "Tonks, what did the manager say when you asked for four years' worth of school books?"

Tonks laughed, "He was particularly interested in why we wanted The Standard Book of Spells Grades 1-4. Otherwise it wouldn't have looked as suspicious, especially since you aren't studying any of the third year elective courses. So," Tonks continued, seeing Danny's inquiring face, "I told him that a bunch of Cornish Pixies got hold of your old school books and you needed to replace them."

"What are Cornish Pixies?" Danny asked.

"You'll read about them, I'm sure," Tonks said idly. "Now, time to get your wand!"

Danny grinned. This was what he was truly excited for. Admittedly, the spell books and potions ingredients were pretty interesting, but the wand was the pinnacle of the day's shopping run. The wand would be the definitive proof that he was a wizard. He followed the young auror through the bustling street towards the south end of the alley. Between two dingy looking stalls stood a shop with a sign that read '_Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC'_ at the end of an outlet. In his excitement, Danny was almost walking in front of Tonks at this point, and by the time they reached the old shop, he entered the store before she did.

The shelves were filled to overcapacity with long, thin boxes, and Danny got the impression that he had just walked into a shoe store for people with incredibly narrow feet. Knowing what the boxes held however, Danny felt like a kid in a candy shop; he wanted to open them all and start casting spells.

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind, an elderly man appeared from behind a very tall stack of boxes next to the cashier desk.

"Wotcher, sir," Tonks nodded, lightly pushing Danny towards the counter.

"Ah, Miss Nymphadora Tonks, twelve and a half inches, pear, unicorn tail hair, reasonably pliant, correct?" the old man spoke immediately, looking at Tonks intently.

"Yes sir, and it's just Tonks," she said, shaking her head in a mixture of bemusement and annoyance.

Danny looked between the two incredulously. "How did you know that?" Danny asked.

"I remember every wand I have ever sold," he responded with pride, switching his intent gaze to him. After another moment, he titled his head. "You are older than a first year student, yet I don't recall selling to you before. Though you do look familiar...what's your name, young man?"

"Danny," Danny answered slowly. He seemed to be waiting for more, so keeping in mind what Tonks had said earlier, he cautiously added, "Fenton."

"Fenton, hmmm..." the man tilted his head in thought. "You reminded me of...well, never mind that. Let's see now, an American...perhaps you are the owner of a Greystone wand? That old fool is still experimenting with niffler hairs, I believe—"

"Uh, I don't have a wand, that's why I'm here," Danny interrupted hesitantly, confused by the man's musings. Danny glanced at Tonks and was surprised to see her look a bit wary.

"Excellent!" the old man yipped, immediately dropping his last train of thought. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Well, I'm right-handed..."

The old man rushed away as a small tape measure zoomed toward him and started measuring his arm, and his fingers, and the length of his fingernails, and his ear lobes. The tape measure continued measuring all over, but when it tried to measure the width of his front tooth, Danny swatted it away with an annoyed yelp. "Who did I remind him of?" Danny asked, turning to Tonks, ignoring the little tape measure still attempting to do its job.

Tonks did not answer right away, and stared at the back door to see whether the man had returned. When she decided they were alone, she said, "I would assume either James or Harry, though most likely Harry based on the age. When you said your last name was Fenton he seemed very confused." She frowned at this point, "Most people recognize Harry because of his scar, so the connection between you and the Potters really isn't that obvious, but Ollivander has a fantastic memory, and it's disconcerting that he may have already seen the likeness between you two."

Before Danny could reply, Ollivander had returned holding a dark violet box. "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance," he began, opening the box in a rush and then carefully picking up the slender piece of wood inside it. "We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." The man handed the wand to Danny very gently and said, "Hornbeam, twelve and a quarter inches, unicorn hair, swishy."

Danny took the wand by the handle and waited, but nothing happened. "You need to wave it a bit," Tonks chuckled, as Ollivander nodded encouragingly.

Feeling slightly foolish, Danny waved the wand, but no sooner had he made the motion, the old man snatched the wand out of his hand, put it back in the box, and rushed away again muttering, "No, not that one."

As he disappeared in the back, Tonks leaned closer to Danny with a smirk. "Mr. Ollivander gives that speech to every new customer, barely changes a word," she whispered.

Danny stifled his laughter as the old man rushed back moments later with a pale green box. "Chestnut, phoenix feather, nine inches, rather pliant."

Danny soon realized that this would be a common occurrence after the fifth time it happened ("Ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy.") and resigned himself to a long process. At first he felt bad for using the old man's time up, but Ollivander seemed to be enjoying himself more after each failed attempt at a match.

"Ollivander likes a challenge," Tonks winked as he rushed away with the twelfth failed attempt ("Fourteen and a half inches, maple, unicorn hair, supple.")

"Well, I hope he likes the Sunday Times crossword, 'cause this is taking a while," Danny sighed. "Maybe I'm not a wizard after all—"

"Oh don't be stupid, Danny," she said, shaking her head. "You wouldn't have been able to see the Leaky Cauldron if you weren't a wizard."

Somewhat reassured, Danny waited for Ollivander to rush back with another box. The new box Ollivander held was a silver tinted box with icy blue traces around the edges. Ollivander ripped the lid off and gently lifted the wand out. "Eleven inches, yew, dragon heartstring, pliable, excellent for transfiguration," he declared, handing the wand over.

Danny knew immediately that there was something different about this wand. The moment his fingers touched the handle, a chill drifted up his arm and engulfed his body. Rather than unsettling, the chill was quite comforting, and he could feel his chilled ghost core inside him reach out to the wand. An icy blue breath exhaled out of his mouth, his ghost sense dissipating quickly in the warm air, and yet Danny knew there was no ghost nearby. Rather, his ghost sense was welcoming a new extension to his paranormal arsenal. Seemingly to echo his ghost powers' reaction, the wand spat controlled bursts of green light, with a light blue mist swirling around it.

"How intriguing," Ollivander breathed, staring at Danny in a look of awed assessment. "I have never in my life as a wandmaker witnessed a reaction like that. The wand reacts of course, but for the wizard to have a visible reaction as well...how curious. Nevertheless, I believe it is safe to say this wand has chosen you, young man."

Danny merely nodded, still captivated by what had just happened.

"That will be seven galleons," he continued, more so to Tonks as Danny was still in his own little world. The witch handed the man seven gold coins and thanked him.

Danny muttered a quiet, "Thanks," as Tonks shuffled him out the door. _I have a wand...a real magic wand...I guess I really am a wizard._ Hardly believing his own thoughts, Danny smiled.

~_July 8th_~

"Danny, wake _up_."

"Whassgoinon?" Danny articulated, rolling over in bed. A week had gone by since arriving in London and Danny still hadn't adjusted to the time difference. Of course, Danny rarely slept at home as it was due to ghost activity, but he was used to being exhausted at two entirely different points of the day.

Life in Grimmauld Place had already fallen into some sort of routine. For Danny, he had been given a study schedule the moment he returned from Diagon Alley. Danny would wake up with the rest of the household, and as everyone else set about various cleaning tasks, he would study his class textbooks. At the moment, he was limited to the seven core classes of Hogwarts: Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration. After lunch, Danny would join everyone else in their cleaning duties, which Ron in particular was glad to see ("Why should Danny be exempt from cleaning?"). Rounding off the day after dinner would be Danny's practical studying, which would always be supervised by an adult. With the exception of the night Danny returned home from Diagon Alley, during which he actually started studying his books on his own free will, Sirius had so far been supervising his spell work. Danny was proud to say he hadn't blown anything up yet, which Ginny revealed to him usually happened to one first year student every year (in Ron's year it was a boy named Seamus Finnigan).

So far, Transfiguration was his favorite subject. Maybe it was because it was his best subject, meaning he actually understood what the text was saying and was performing these spells the best out of his other practicals, or maybe it was just the mystique of being able to transform something into another completely different object. Of course, transfiguring matches into needles was not exactly mind blowing, but it was nice to hear Sirius's praise as he successfully transfigured the match on his first try.

Defense was his next favorite class, mostly because it reminded him of ghost fighting. Defense was the one class that was not only learning material; you had to already have the nerve and instinct to carry out what you have been taught. The material on its own was pretty interesting, but Danny liked the fact that it was not purely based out of books. Potions was his next favorite class because it reminded him of Chemistry, a class he had really been looking forward to for sophomore year at Casper High. Out of all his classes, it was the most precise and science based...as much as magic can be called science at least.

Danny enjoyed Charms because it was the most "magical" in his opinion. It seemed like the stereotypical magic tricks one would see a magician perform, like levitation and such, but he was actually learning the magic of it rather than a cheap parlor trick. Astronomy would have been a very interesting class, mostly because of his dream of being an astronaut, but since he was not allowed to go outside (it was too dangerous apparently) he could not do the practical portion of Astronomy, and quite honestly, he already knew the moons of Jupiter. Danny held a certain appreciation for Herbology, mostly out of respect for Sam, but he did not have the same green thumb as she did, and he was thankful that he would not have to go near some of the plants described in the book so far. Finally, History of Magic had to be the dullest subject of them all. It was like his school history classes but now he had more events to memorize for the same dates. Danny could just imagine getting a question back at Casper High after all this magical studying about what event killed millions in Europe during the 14th century, and instead of answering the Black Death of the Bubonic Plague, he would probably end up giving a lengthy answer about goblin rebellions.

In addition to his studying and cleaning, Danny was also constantly chatting with Jazz, thanks to the journals he bought in Diagon Alley. Before leaving for Grimmauld Place, Danny had Tonks wait as he wrote in the journal he was planning on keeping, _'Write something in this journal the moment you get it. -Danny.'_ He gave the journal with the blue replica of his message and the accompanying bracelet to Tonks, who had promised to mail it the muggle way at her first opportunity. Two days later, Danny felt the band on his wrist tingle with warmth during dinner, alerting him to a message in his journal. He opened it to find Jazz's handwriting in red with the message: _'Something in this journal the moment you get it. -Danny. Love, Jazz.'_ with a smilie face included. To which Danny replied, _'Don't you be smart with me,'_ which of course spurred a lengthy conversation explaining the journals' function to his logical sister. Danny told her about the bracelet and its ability to signal when a new message has been sent.

_'I think the bracelet only works when the journal is closed, because I haven't felt anything while we've been writing,'_ she said initially, after Danny had explained the bracelets.

The next morning, Danny told Jazz about his day in Diagon Alley (after Jazz berated him for waking her up at five in the morning) and about a lot of what he had been learning so far, but this was cut short when Mrs. Weasley found him writing in his journal instead of studying. It was at this point in time when Jazz made a fantastic suggestion.

_'I don't see why you can't just make duplicates of yourself. You can be studying while writing here at the same time,'_ she had written. _'That way your ghost powers don't get rusty either.'_

Danny figured that she only meant for him to make one duplicate, but Jazz's idea had merit. What if he created enough duplicates so there would be one of him per subject? He would get through his work seven times as fast! Though this strategy would not work on his practical study times, it was perfect for reading the textbooks. So thanks to Jazz, Danny had found a way to accelerate his learning, even if it had not been her original intent.

As Danny quickly learned, there were many people who would often drop by the house for Order of the Phoenix meetings. Some, like Tonks, would stay for a meal and help clean, while others would arrive for meetings and leave immediately after. At first, Danny felt upset about being excluded from the meetings, but he learned almost immediately that the Weasley children were not allowed either and thus he did not feel nearly as bad. Ginny had kept up a very good commentary of people as they would arrive for meetings, as many of them were teachers at Hogwarts.

"That's Mad-Eye Moody," she said, pointing over the edge of the second floor banister that she and Danny were standing at to the entry way where people were shuffling in. She was pointing to a heavily scarred man with a fake leg and walking stick. Just as Danny was thinking he was very weathered-looking, Danny got the feeling that he was being watched, and seconds later, Moody looked up at the two of them. Danny almost gasped out loud at the eye that was swirling around in his eye socket.

"That's Professor Flitwick, he's the Charms professor," she said, pointing to a very short man. "That's Professor McGonagall; she's the Transfiguration professor and the head of Gryffindor."

This statement prompted a discussion about the four houses of Hogwarts, which revealed that the Weasley family and Sirius were all Gryffindors, as well as Harry. She also said that Professor Flitwick was the head of Ravenclaw.

"And Snape's the head of Slytherin," she added, pointing at a greasy haired man with a pointed hook nose. "He's the Potions professor—"

"—and the biggest git in the school," Fred finished, him and George joining them at the banister. "That's Mundungus Fletcher," he said, joining the commentary and pointing out a very dodgy-looking man in a hooded coat, "and Kingsley Shacklebolt, a senior auror," he added, pointing to a dark-skinned man who had just walked in with Mr. Weasley.

"He's in charge of Sirius' case," George smirked, "he's been feeding them a bunch of false leads."

"There's Bill," Ginny said, pointing to a man in flaming red hair like the rest of his family, pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"And Professor Lupin," Fred rounded off, pointing to a shabby looking man who Sirius immediately greeted like a brother.

Danny quickly met all of the people originally pointed out to him, with the exception of Snape who, as of yet, had never stuck around long enough for Danny to see him. Out of the teachers, Mr. Lupin was the only one to stick around for one of his practicals so far, and he had promised to help him with his studies whenever he needed it.

So much had happened in the past few days that Danny could hardly believe that it had only been a week in London. It had been a week, and yet, Danny still had not adjusted to the time difference. Thus, the usual early morning wakeup call was not at all appreciated.

"Mum has breakfast ready."

Danny groaned in response.

"Oh come _on_," Ginny huffed, "Even Ron's awake."

"No I'm not," Ron grumbled across the room.

"Boys," Ginny sighed, abandoning her attempts and leaving the boys to their room.

Reluctantly, Danny pulled the blankets off of him, yet remained lying in bed. "We should probably get up."

"Mrmph," Ron mumbled.

"Someone's coming today, right?" Danny asked, finally sitting up in bed.

"Loads of people from the Order come and go every day," Ron replied smartly.

Danny let out an irritated sound, "I meant one of your friends. Harmony, was it? Or Hermy—?"

"Hermione!" Ron bolted up in bed. "Finally, contact with the outside world!" All signs of grogginess gone, Ron rushed around the room to change. Danny followed at a much slower rate, not nearly as energized as Ron and sighed. He supposed it was Ron's friendship with Harry that was making him act this way, but Danny was starting to get peeved by Ron's attitude. With Dumbledore's orders, Ron had no communication with any of his friends, especially Harry. In those regards, Danny was a sore replacement. If Ron was any indicator of how Harry's friends would treat him, he wasn't all that excited to meet Hermione.

By the time Danny had changed and made his way downstairs, Ron had almost finished eating breakfast and was asking Mrs. Weasley about his friend.

"When's she getting here?" he asked as Danny entered the kitchen.

"Minerva should be bringing her over by lunch," Mrs. Weasley replied, scooping a bit of scrambled eggs on Danny's plate.

"So she gets to skip morning cleaning," Ginny pouted. "Lucky her, I'm not excited to clean out this kitchen."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound fun," Danny commented airily. "Ow!" he exclaimed with a laugh, as Ginny punched his shoulder.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of cleaning left in the kitchen for you both to join in," Mrs. Weasley placated.

"Yay," Danny sighed dully as the twins snorted.

"How are your studies going, Danny?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"All right," Danny said neutrally, thinking of the six doppelgangers he had left in his room studying. He was leaving Transfiguration for himself. "I'm a bit more than halfway through year one of Transfiguration," he offered, conveniently leaving out that he was also halfway through his other six classes.

"Well, don't burn yourself out, this is a holiday," she said gently. Danny had to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

Ron scoffed, "Some holiday, we're cleaning all day."

"You wanted to help the Order, and this is how you can do it!" Mrs. Weasley said crossly.

"I think the house would make a good practice location for dueling," Sirius said, entering the kitchen and grabbing an apple off the table.

"See, even Sirius wants us to leave the house as is," George grinned.

"I didn't say that," Sirius said quickly, noticing Mrs. Weasley's glare. "Consider cleaning the house auror training, you have no idea what kind of dark objects you'll come across."

"Oh yeah, great training," Fred scoffed. "Look out, Ginny! Beware the dust of the cursed curtains!" The children dissolved into giggles as Mrs. Weasley huffed and Sirius tried to keep a responsible straight face. He failed miserably.

The seven Dannys continued their studying...well, six of them were. The History of Magic Danny had abandoned his reading efforts and hour ago and was currently writing in the journal to Jazz (despite the fact she was currently sleeping). The original Danny was reading a passage about the etymology of the _Avifors_ spell when—

_**"FILTHY HALF BREEDS! BLOOD TRAITORS AND F—"**_

Mrs. Black's painting was screaming downstairs. Danny had met Mrs. Black a couple days ago as Tonks was leaving when she knocked over the swamp creature leg (which he now knew was a troll leg). Knowing that Tonks was the only one clumsy enough to accidentally wake up Mrs. Black and she was currently at work, and the Order members usually remembered not to ring the doorbell, Danny figured that Hermione had finally arrived. _If all of Harry's friends can stay over here, why can't mine?_ Danny thought bitterly, closing his Transfiguration book and dispelling his doppelgangers.

As Danny made his way down stairs, he heard voices in the hallway (accompanied by the twins' efforts to close Mrs. Black's curtains), and decided to make a beeline for the kitchen. He opened the door to find Sirius hovering over the stove.

"Are you cooking lunch today?" Danny asked with a smirk. "Because if so, I'm going back upstairs."

Especially after their late night chat, Danny and Sirius were getting along great. In fact, Sirius was probably the one person in the household that he felt completely comfortable around. The pair would have plenty of time to chat during Danny's practical magic lessons, and it was just the type of interaction he needed, with Ron's not-so-hidden hostility and the twins' exuberance to deal with. Sirius also seemed to really enjoy talking with him, but based on what he revealed to Danny that night, he was not all that surprised. Danny also felt like he could relate with the man somewhat; Sirius was basically being held captive in this house, and Danny could certainly empathize. He had never felt so confined before in his life, and that is including when Walker put him in Ghost Zone jail. What he would give to go out flying just once.

Sirius rounded on him and pointed a wooden spoon at him, "You liked the butterbeer I made!"

"Yes, but that was a drink," Danny allowed. "Ginny told me you melted a pot trying to make pasta the other day."

Sirius pouted, "For your information, I'm making sure the food doesn't burn while Molly is welcoming Hermione. Nothing's burning!" he added, misreading Danny's scowl.

"It's not that," Danny sighed.

"Then what is it?" Sirius stepped away from the counter and gave his full attention to Danny. This was something that Danny really appreciated about Sirius. He was like the uncle that Danny never had (Aunt Alicia's ex-husband didn't count). Despite the irresponsible childlike persona he clearly had within him, albeit hidden by the years of depression he suffered through, he also had a responsible side, which Danny figured was fostered by caring for Harry.

Distantly, Danny heard Mrs. Black's cries cease and the only things he could hear were mumbled conversation from the hallway and the simmer of water on the stove. He sighed, not really sure how to explain his annoyance. Deciding he should just start talking and see where that got him, Danny took a breath, "It's—"

The door to the kitchen burst open, the twins bounding past him in a blur of red. Danny watched the two in amusement as they immediately made their way to the stove until—

"Harry!"

Before Danny could even turn around, he was tackled from behind and two arms wrapped around his neck. Danny was still trying to reign in his instincts as he was forced to turn around, where he met the shocked face of a girl his age with bushy brown hair. Behind him, he could hear the twins laughing. The girl stared at him for another moment before hastily retracting her arms. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were...well obviously you're not. I'm sorry, you looked just like Harry from behind—"

"And what does _that_ mean, 'Mione?" Fred snickered.

"I meant his _hair_," she said crossly, glaring at Fred. "It sticks up in the back just like Harry's does. And he's the same height, and—"

"And once again, we've dissolved to the 'he looks similar to Harry for these reasons' conversation," Danny sighed. Looking past the girl, who he assumed by this point to be Hermione, he saw Ginny who was smirking in amusement, and Ron, who surprisingly looked livid. Behind them, Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall were talking in the hallway, the former probably offering the latter to stay for lunch. _I hope she does stay, I have a question about the _Avifors_ and _Avis_ spells..._

"-this is Danny, not Harry," Ginny was saying as Danny reentered the conversation.

"Well, nice to meet you, Danny," Hermione said, holding out a hand. "I'm Hermione Granger."

Deciding this contact was much preferred to her tackling him, Danny shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, too."

"So, you're Harry's twin brother? They were telling me a little in the hallway..." she continued as the women joined them in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley immediately went to relieve Sirius from tending the food, which both she and Sirius were grateful for, and started getting everything ready to serve. Everyone, including Professor McGonagall, started making their way towards the table. Danny tried to find a seat near the professor, and was slightly annoyed when Hermione sat down next to him. Ron was clearly annoyed as well and sat on the other side of her.

"Yup, I am," he sighed, finally answering her question.

"You don't sound thrilled about it," she frowned.

"I'm just overwhelmed," Danny admitted as food was placed on the table. "Learning I have a magical British twin brother was a shocker, and then I learned I'm a wizard, and then within the week I'm brought to England to meet said brother, only to arrive and find out that he wouldn't be here for a month. So yeah, I'm not a happy camper."

"That makes sense," Hermione said. "I was really surprised when I found out I was a witch, but I guess I always knew there was something odd about me. Now I know that all the weird stuff that happened to me as a kid was accidental magic, so when I was finally given a reason to why it was happening, things just made a lot of sense. I'm just surprised that you're _just_ learning about magic. Did you ever have that feeling that something was different?"

"Honestly, weird stuff is kind of normal in my family, so if something happened, I just attributed it to my parents' experiments," Danny shrugged, deciding not to bring up his scar; that certainly qualified as different, however he was not ready to share that yet.

"Experiments?"

"My parents are ghost hunters," Danny explained. "They have a lab in the basement of our house and they're always inventing things and such."

"Fascinating," Hermione breathed. She seemed about ready to start another line of conversation, and eager to avoid more questioning about himself, he looked towards Professor McGonagall.

"Professor, I have a question," he asked quickly, just as Hermione opened her mouth.

McGonagall looked towards Danny with a slightly surprised look, while Hermione looked slightly put out. "Yes, Mr. Fenton?"

"I had a question about the _Avifors_ spell," he began, while piling food on his plate. "_Avifors_ is what you use to transfigure an object into a bird, right?" At McGonagall's nod, he continued, "Well, I was reading the textbook, and it mentioned a spell that would be learned later called _Avis_."

"Yes, that is a sixth year conjuring spell," McGonagall confirmed. "Far above the level you're studying right now, though I am impressed you are already studying the _Forma_ class of spells, that's past the halfway point of first year."

Danny shrugged, "Transfiguration is my favorite subject so far, so I'm going through it faster than I thought." McGonagall, despite her consistently strict complexion, seemed to let out a small smile. "But I had a question about the difference between the two spells. The introduction to the book mentioned the classes of transfiguration spells, which includes conjuring, so that would be _Avis_, but the _Avifors_ spell is a relatively simple transformation spell. _Avifors_ transforms an object into a bird whereas _Avis_ conjures a bird from nothing. Well, the intro mentioned briefly that conjuring had limitations but it didn't say anything about transformations. So I guess my question is what's the difference between the two spells, other than difficulty?"

McGonagall seemed slightly stunned by the question while Hermione was openly staring at him. Everyone else at the table was already engrossed in their lunch. Quickly regaining her bearings, McGonagall said, "Very good observation, Mr. Fenton, I'm surprised you've put this much thought into your studies already."

"I just think a lot about things when they don't make sense," Danny shrugged.

McGonagall gave him a calculating look before speaking again, "Well, to answer your question, yes, conjuring does have limitations. The most important limitation in this situation is that of time. Anything that is conjured will disappear after time, depending on the strength of the spell. So a bird conjured from _Avis_ will disappear after a time. A transformed bird from _Avifors_, however, will not disappear over time, as it has a physical basis for the magic to set on."

"So why is the more complicated spell the more useless of the two?" Danny asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"A conjured bird is completely made up from magic, but because of this, it is more pure. Thus, a conjured bird is a more true form of a bird, and everything about it is the same as a real bird, until it disappears," McGonagall began, beginning to butter her bread roll. "The transformed bird, however, is not a pure imitation of a bird as it is composed of a completely unrelated object, such as a goblet or a small wooden box. It merely looks like a real bird, but will never be the real thing."

"So _Avifors_ transforms a copy of a bird that looks like one but isn't really a bird, and _Avis_ creates a true bird, until it disappears," Danny relayed back.

"Essentially," McGonagall nodded. "Very good, Mr. Fenton," she added before starting on her lunch, and entering a conversation with Mrs. Weasley.

"So you're studying Hogwarts subjects?" Hermione asked as Danny as he shoveled a bite of food into his mouth.

Danny nodded, allowing himself time to swallow. "The core subjects, yeah. I've been working for a week."

"And you're already on the _Forma_ chapter?" she asked.

Danny shrugged, taking another bite of food. _I'm also halfway through Potions, and Charms, and..._

"Well, if you need any help, I'm obviously going to be around, so don't be afraid to ask for help," she continued. "Professors won't always be around to answer questions, and we've already done this material."

"I'll be sure to ask if I need it," Danny said quickly before focusing on his food. Danny almost let out a sigh of relief when Ginny started talking to Hermione, but managed to restrain himself. If only Hermione would talk to him less and Ron would talk to him more, he imagined he would be getting along with Harry's friends much better. As Danny scooped a bite of food into his mouth, he thought, _If I have to deal with this for another month, meeting Harry better be worth it._ From what he experienced so far with Harry's friends, somehow, he didn't think it would be.

* * *

**So, I have a couple of notes to share before getting to Danny's wand. First of all, the **ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy **wand that Danny tries is actually one of the wands Harry tries in book 1. Also, the **fourteen and a half inches, maple, unicorn, supple **is my own personal Pottermore wand. Yay fun facts :)**

**Second, I have some explanation about the spells Danny was asking about. While the **_**Avis**_** and **_**Avifors**_** spells do exist, McGonagall's explanation was purely speculation on my part. Also, the whole **_**Forma**_** class of spells is of my creation (to my knowledge), based on the Latin word **_**Forma**_** meaning form, which is the basis of the spells **_**Draconifors, Avifors, Lapifors,**_** etc., so it made sense to group these spells into their own family which I am classifying as **_**Forma**_** spells.**

**So, DANNY'S WAND:  
****I literally put so much thought into this, it's not even funny. I have been thinking about Danny's wand since before Pottermore was released, though Pottermore gave me some fantastic insight into wand cores, woods, etc. Here is the breakdown of Danny's wand's different components:**

**Length, 11":  
This is the most obvious of my reasoning. I chose 11" because that is the length of Harry's wand, and I figured as twins of very similar height, it would make sense. Length is also based on magical core; usually a lack of magical core is expressed in wand length by making it shorter rather than a large core making a wand longer. If this were the case, Harry's wand would more likely been closer to Ron's wand length. His height is accounted for much more than his magical abilities, whereas Dolores Umbridge's wand is extremely short, much shorter than accounted for by her height in my opinion.**

**Wood, Yew:  
Yes, this is the same wood that Voldemort's wand is made of, and can be considered the opposite of Harry's wand, but that is NOT why I chose it. I compared eight different woods, looking for qualities that best represented Danny. Along with yew, aspen and hornbeam made the final three for consideration. Yew stood apart for many reasons. While an unusual wood and occasionally notorious as a wand, it is said to give its wielder the power of life and death. That's not to say that Danny can control death, but I felt that it was very in-tune with his half ghost status. Also, though a yew wand is more likely attracted to the Dark Arts, it can equally prove to be in the hands of a fierce protector of others. This definitely suits Danny as he is a protector of Amity Park, while also struggling to deal with his apparent (though technically no longer true) evil future. From the Pottermore site, "Wands hewn from these most long-lived trees have been found in the possession of heroes quite as often as of villains." This highlights that Danny could end up as either a hero or a villain, though we all hope he'll remain a hero. Finally, a yew wand never chooses a mediocre or timid owner, and while Danny can be shy at times, he always speaks his mind and always jumps in to things. For these reasons, I believe yew was the best choice of wood for Danny's wand.**

**Core, Dragon Heartstring:  
I had actually decided on dragon heartstring before Pottermore was released, but the info there definitely solidified my decision. Dragon wands are capable of the most power, and they are also the most prone to accidents. If you don't think this applies to Danny, I think you need to re-watch a few episodes :) Dragon wands also learn faster than other types, and this also applies to Danny, especially in my story. Even with the doppelgangers' help, he is learning pretty fast (albeit, it is first year material). He also learns to harness his ghost abilities relatively fast, highlighted when he learns the Ghostly Wail ten years before he is supposed to. Dragon wands are also the easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, which once again highlights Danny's possible future that he is constantly running away from.**

**Flexibility, pliable:  
This was difficult only because it's difficult to find explanations behind different wand flexibilities. I finally settled on pliable for the main reason that James' wand was pliable and was excellent for Transfiguration. Apart from Transfiguration being Danny's favorite subject, he is constantly changing from human to ghost to human again (or something in the middle).**

**Wow, that was a lot of explanation! If you have ANY questions, don't hesitate to ask me in a review! Thank you all so much for reading!**

**Peace out!  
Sadie**


	8. Caged for Too Long

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait this time, but I kinda overdosed on RL in the last few months. I'm still in the process of healing from that, but I'm back! Thank goodness for summer and a month long Creative Writing summer course that finally got me to finish this chapter. I won't bore you with the RL details, but if you're really interested, check out a lengthy Tumblr post of mine at the end of April. But that one post is the only serious/RL/depressing thing on there, the rest is hilarity and awesome, so check it out when you get the chance! The link is on my profile.**

**Without further ado, enjoy the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer! I do not own Harry Phantom or Danny Potter.**

* * *

_~ July 9th ~_

'She's you. She's a witch version of you.'

_'And why is that in a negative context?'_

'It's not, really, I just thought you'd appreciate that you aren't alone.'

_'Oh, thanks =P'_

Jazz had become the perfect getaway from the routine of Order headquarters. His daily conversations were more or less added to the routine rather than breaking it up, but he appreciated it nonetheless. After his practical sessions, he would retreat to his room and talk to Jazz, which she appreciated due to the time difference. Initially, Danny would write to her whenever he wanted a study break, but Jazz quickly learned to take off her bracelet before bed, and Danny would sit with the journal in front of him for ten minutes doing absolutely nothing before remembering she was asleep like normal people were over the summer between three and six in the morning. He really missed talking to Sam and Tucker, but his sister had not let him down so far.

'She's already giving me study tips, and I've known her for a day. I mean, I was never the best at studying, but that's not really my fault.'

_'She just wants you to do well, and it sounds like she's trying to help. She sounds nice at least.'_

'I'm almost done with my first year studies, I'd say I was doing pretty well before she came along.'

_'You're almost done already? Wow, that was fast! Maybe you need a vacation from ghosts more often.'_

Danny smiled wryly, finding it ironic that Jazz had given him the doppelganger idea in the first place and she did not realize that was why he was so far ahead.

_'Just give her a chance,'_ Jazz continued. _'It won't be good if you're at ends with all of Harry's friends before he gets there. You said you and Ron don't get along already. Don't alienate his other best friend too.'_

'I'm not alienating him!' Danny wrote back furiously. 'He's the one acting all moody! He's alienating ME, not the other way around. Why do you think I'm writing to you every day rather than spending quality time with the people here?'

_'I know this is hard on you, Danny, I do. Just...'_ her writing paused for a moment, and then she scribbled out _'just.'_ Another minute passed before she started writing again. _'Look, Danny, I know you're taking in a lot right now, and you're probably worried about meeting Harry, but try taking some time to socialize with his friends.'_

Danny sighed before replying, 'I appreciate the help, Jazz.'

_'Do you think I could count this on my resume? Experience: counseling little brother on his ghost and magic issues.'_

'I don't have issues!' Danny wrote indignantly, before relenting. 'Okay, yes I do. But I'm not paying you anything.'

_'You don't have to.'_

Danny smiled, embarrassed by his sister's words and very thankful that Jazz could not see him. His smile dropped very quickly when Ron burst into the room. Ron did not seem to register that Danny was in the room as he went straight to his bed and collapsed on it.

"Tired?" Danny asked, trying to follow Jazz's advice and reach out to the redhead.

Ron bolted up, startled, but when he saw Danny he scowled and laid back down. "You wouldn't know," he grumbled.

Frowning, Danny turned away from the two-way journal. He could already see this going downhill. "I cleaned just as much as you did this afternoon," Danny pointed out.

"Yeah, and while I was attacked by a teapot this morning, you were attacked by first year Charms," he muttered.

Danny snorted, which was probably the wrong thing to do as Ron gave him a swift glare. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Danny closed the journal and gave his full attention to the irritable redhead. "Look, I don't know what has you so pissed off at me, but this is getting ridiculous. I know I'm not Harry, and honestly, I'm just as frustrated as you are about him not being here. But at least your family's here, at least your friends are here, at least you haven't been thrown into a world that is completely unlike your own-"

"Sure, my family's here. My family's here while yours is sitting safe at home in America, away from all of this!" Ron spat, sitting up in bed again. "You've never had to worry about something bad like this happening to your family! Where were you when Harry's been in the line of fire?"

_"Too weak to escape, and you're too late to save them."_

_"NO!"_

Danny hastily pushed that memory to the back of his mind, desperately trying to keep his cool in front of Ron. He chose not to respond to Ron's jibe, not wanting anything to slip. Not even Sam, Tucker, or Jazz knew that he had watched them die that day before Clockwork fixed everything. Sure, they knew about the alternate future, but they didn't know that Danny had lived through it himself. He wasn't ready to share that quite yet.

"All of a sudden, Harry's long-lost brother appears from nowhere," Ron continued very mockingly, "completely oblivious to everything. You're here studying basic spells, and everyone you care about is stuffed safely out of the way—"

"'Stuffed safely?'" Danny repeated, his anger starting to leak out. "Do you have any idea how much has been thrown at me in the past two weeks? I'm adopted, I'm a wizard, and I have a twin brother, all things that I did _not_want to learn just before ending the school year. I left my friends and family under the impression that I'd be meeting Harry, only to find out that I wouldn't be meeting him for a month and in the meantime, magic books have been shoved down my throat. And for your information, my family and friends aren't exactly sitting at home completely safe from everything. You don't know what I had to give up to come here-!"

"You-Know-Who hasn't spread to America, has he?"

Danny started, surprised by the new voice that spoke from behind him. He turned to see Hermione standing by the door. "No, he hasn't," Danny answered stiffly, still worked up from his talk with Ron. "Just because an evil wizard isn't after my family just yet, doesn't mean they're safe."

"Just what did you have to give up to 'vacation' in England for the summer anyway?" Ron challenged.

"Ron!" Hermione admonished, watching Danny with slightly wide eyes.

Danny had had enough. He slammed the pencil that was still in his hand on top of his closed journal and stormed out of the room, hearing the beginning of what sounded like Hermione lecturing Ron. Making his way down the stairs, he paused when he heard voices in the kitchen. Sirius, Kingsley, and Lupin were talking behind the door, but their conversation was too muffled for him to hear. Seeing that the coast was clear, he walked quietly through the entry hallway. He paused once more at the door, alarm bells ringing in his mind. He had been told specifically that he had to stay inside the house. _For his own safety._Danny scoffed. He had ghost powers, what could possibly go wrong? Glancing up the hall again, he muttered very quietly, "Going Ghost."

The familiar thrill of ghost energy rushed through him as a bright white ring erupted around his waist, splitting in two and sending rings to the ends of his body. His blue jeans and white t-shirt shifted into black hazmat, and his black hair grew silver. Icy blue eyes closed as he changed, and as the transformation ended, glowing green eyes snapped open with childlike mischief. Checking one last time that the coast was clear, Danny Phantom went intangible and phased through the front door of number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Perhaps it was being confined to a dark, dingy, and downright depressing household that had affected him, but Danny could not remember the last time it felt so good to fly. Joy coursed through him as he flew at top speeds into the sky, the wind whipping his face as he laughed in soft ecstasy. He remembered the first time he flew without falling out of the sky or losing control whatsoever and it was nothing like this moment. This had been the longest he had gone without using his ghost powers since first attaining them, with the not-so-satisfying exception of making duplicates for homework. His powers were usually used for catching a rouge ghost that had escaped the Ghost Zone, and this flight was for pure enjoyment. _I should do this more often_, Danny sighed, flipping in midair. He hovered for a moment, looking down at the ground below him, and gasped. He must have been _thousands_of feet above London! He had not realized how rapidly he had been ascending while releasing his pent up energy.

Unused energy still surging through him, he built up a ball of ectoplasm and threw it away from him, watching as it exploded in a shower of green sparks. He repeated the process several times, eventually trying to emulate various styles of fireworks. After successfully completing a pinwheel firework, he performed some extravagant and completely superfluous flips and spins in the air. He created a couple duplicates and started flying around with them as well, continuing the fireworks display with the added help. _I did miss the Fourth of July, after all,_he rationalized with a smile.

He continued his controlled bursts of ghost energy for a solid half an hour, high above the city of London. The adrenaline finally flowing out of him, his doppelgangers popped out of existence and he kept hovering in place, peacefully looking at the sky around him. He took a moment to stare at the specks of light that dotted the landscape below him, trying to pinpoint which small cluster was Grimmauld Place. Hoping that his ascent had been completely vertical, Danny started flying back towards the ground, though at a much gentler pace than he had flying up.

He reminded himself once again of Jazz's advice to try and befriend them, but he could not help but think that it would be impossible. Regardless, he did have another month or so until he met Harry, and he would rather spend that time on somewhat civil terms with Harry's best friends.

As Grimmauld Place came back into view and he let himself go invisible, Danny decided to ask Ron and Hermione, and the other inhabitants of number 12, more about Harry. Maybe that would tone down Ron's anger a bit, and at the same time he would learn about his brother.

Danny landed in the Grimmauld Place outdoor plaza and started walking towards the building, but what he saw made his blood run cold-or, his ectoplasm run colder. "Oh no," Danny moaned. The moonlight glittered off of number 11, and a tree branch masked the shadowed 13.

But the clouded silver 12 was gone.

_~Amity Park~_

Jazz frowned looking at her own writing in her journal. Danny had yet to answer her questions, and it had been about ten minutes at that point. Her questions really weren't that difficult, they were mostly meant for comic relief. She scribbled 'I'm gonna guess you left then. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye, little brother,' just as she heard a knock at the front door. She closed her journal and hid it in her desk drawer. Though her parents knew the journal existed and knew of its magical properties, there was no telling what would happen if a visiting friend found the two-way journal. Jazz was actually surprised her mother had yet to insist to write to Danny.

After another impatient knock on the door, Jazz hurried downstairs. She opened the front door to find an irate Sam at the door, with Tucker hovering behind her.

"What took so long?" Sam asked as she and Tucker walked in the house. Jazz probably would have been offended by the comment if she had not known Sam for as long as she did.

"I was upstairs writing, and I'm the only one in the house," Jazz answered. "I'm not Danny; I can't take the short cut and travel through floors."

"Noted," Sam smirked.

"Speaking of Danny," Tucker said, "have you talked to him at all since he's been gone? Because we've tried calling him and his phone's not in service." Tucker waved around his own cell in Jazz's face, as if emphasizing the point.

"No, I haven't!" Jazz said a bit quickly.

"Do you know any way of getting in contact with him?" Sam asked.

Jazz bit her lip, "We've been writing letters, but it takes a while to respond."  
"Well, can you at least give us some sort of contact info?" Sam asked with folded arms. "If long distance is the issue, I can pay-"

"I just don't know how he's surviving without cell service!" Tucker moaned. Jazz smiled lightly, remembering a conversation with Danny from a few days ago. Neither Danny nor Jazz could figure out just why Danny had no cell reception. Danny and the rest of the Fentons had tried to no avail to contact the other via cell phone.

"Written letters are just gonna have to do, I guess," Sam sighed in defeat. "Do you have his address?"

Jazz's face reddened. "Uh, I don't have it..."

Sam scowled, "Then how are you writing letters?"

"Have you been able to email him?" Tucker asked hopefully. "Because I haven't been able to email him either."

"I don't think he has computer access, and he didn't bring his computer with him," Jazz answered truthfully, remembering one of the first journal conversations she shared with Danny. _'Jazz, you don't understand. I CAN'T PLAY DOOMED! What will I do with my summer? THEY WANT ME TO CLEAN!' _Remembering the vivid blue writing that stared back at her that day, she giggled.

"What's so funny?"

Jazz blushed, "Oh, nothing! Um, I don't have Danny's address, but maybe I can ask my mom when she gets home."

"Do you _really _not know?" Sam asked in suspicion.

"I just know he's in London," Jazz said lightly. She remembered that she was not actually allowed to know where Danny was, which she thought was weird, but she knew that definitely meant Sam and Tucker were not supposed to know. "Why don't you give me any letters you want to send, and we can get them to Danny somehow."

"What about his birthday?" Sam asked.

"Should we give you his present to send to him?"

Jazz nodded hesitantly. "I think that should be fine...I need to talk to my mom."

Sam and Tucker, realizing they probably were not going to get much more out of Jazz, decided to leave. Before walking out the door, Sam turned to ask, "How is Danny doing?"

Jazz sighed. "He's got a lot going on, but I think he's fine," she said after a long pause.

Sam nodded, and Tucker shouted, "Thanks, Jazz!" just as the door closed.

Jazz looked at the closed door and sighed. _He'll be fine._

_~London~_

_Okay, don't panic._

Danny tried to calm himself down, hovering anxiously in the Grimmauld Place plaza, but the longer he stared at the gap between eleven and thirteen, the more his panic began to mount. What if he was completely locked out forever? It was not as simple as walking up to the front door and knocking to get someone's attention. His available ghost solution could not work either because he could not just phase into the building if it did not exist.

He touched down to the ground, gripping the snowy hair at the back of his head fretfully. "Okay, think," he told himself sternly, his other hand resting on his hip. _How did I get in last time?_ Danny thought back to his arrival in London with Mr. Weasley. _One minute, number 12 didn't exist, and then all of a sudden it did. What made it appear...?_

_"Read this, but don't say it out loud."_

_'The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.'_

"That's it!" Danny cheered, startling a small animal that had been prowling through the bushes. The movement alerted him that he was still invisible, so Danny reminded himself to stay quiet. Focusing once again on the gap between doors eleven and thirteen, he visualized the thin, neat handwriting that had been presented to him over a week ago. Just as he remembered the words from the piece of paper, a door sprouted between the doors of eleven and thirteen, followed immediately by multiple windows. Before Danny could really register what had happened, number 12 was glaring defiantly at him, in the clouded silver he remembered. Danny hovered in the air again, and turned intangible. As he phased through the door, he childishly stuck his tongue out at the offending number.

Almost immediately after entering the house, Danny nearly yelled in shock. Not more than three feet away stood Kingsley and Lupin speaking in low tones. Danny kept any sound from escaping him, and floated straight up through the ceiling to avoid them. He phased through the floor of the second floor room, and overshooting his flight in his haste, phased through the floor of the third floor room above it. After deciding the darkened room was deserted, he regained tangibility and visibility, and returned to his human form.

Danny quickly realized this was a mistake.

He heard an unnatural squawk from behind him and immediately froze in a guilty hunched position. When he heard a continued rustling behind him, he pivoted very slowly and after seeing what was before him, he had to bite back another yell.

The first thing Danny noticed was its head, which sported the largest eagle head he had ever seen in his life. Taking in the rest of the creature, he spotted lethal-looking talons and large folded eagle wings mounted on the body of a feathered horse. _This is a hippogriff,_ Danny realized, remembering the conversation at his first meal in the house. _This must be Buckbeak. I hope he's trained..._

Just as Danny thought this, the previously hostile-looking creature bowed its head towards him and then seemed to relax back into its resting position on the floor. Somehow recognizing he was no longer in danger, Danny straightened up with a sigh, rolling his neck to crack a tight knot that had formed. His fear having left him-mostly-he slowly walked towards Buckbeak, and when he was close enough he reached out to stroke his beak. Buckbeak seemed to be enjoying the attention so he continued to stroke his beak lightly, until the door suddenly opened.

"There you are!"

Danny turned to see Sirius standing in the doorway, looking tired and relieved, and after a moment he looked shocked.

"Have you been here this whole time?" Sirius asked, stepping into the room. Before he walked too far, he bowed, keeping eye contact with...Buckbeak? Danny followed his gaze and watched as Buckbeak nodded his head just like he had to Danny.

"Why are you bowing to him?" Danny asked, genuinely interested while also trying to avoid the previous question.

Sirius looked even more startled. "You have to bow to a hippogriff to gain their respect, otherwise they won't let you near them. Don't tell me you didn't bow! How're you standing so close?"

"But I didn't bow-oh," Danny paused, remembering his hunched position when he had been facing Buckbeak. _Well, that was lucky,_he thought, guiltily rubbing the back of his head. "I was already hunched over when I noticed him, so when I did see him, I was too shocked to move...I guess that qualifies as a bow." Danny grinned sheepishly, his hand falling to his side.

Sirius stared at him for a moment before letting out a strained chuckle. "I can't believe you've been up here this whole time," he sighed. Danny did not bother to correct this assumption as it worked in his favor very well. "Everyone's been looking for you for half an hour," he continued, beckoning Danny towards the hallway. Danny left the room with him, giving a last glance at Buckbeak while feeling very guilty for the trouble he put people through. "Hermione said you and Ron had a little spat-"

"It's fine," Danny interrupted with a slight scowl, no longer feeling guilty for the search. "I just got a little too worked up, so I left the room to cool off a bit. Somehow I ended up in Buckbeak's room..." Danny trailed off unconvincingly, but Sirius thankfully did not question it. "I'm sorry for the trouble—"

"Don't worry about it," Sirius said, waving it off. "You're fine, that's all that matters. I'd hate to send a letter explaining that we lost you after less than two weeks."

Danny appreciated the small attempt at humor, but he could not manage more than a small smile. As they reached the second floor landing, Danny asked, "When is Harry going to be here?"

Sirius sighed heavily. "Hopefully soon," he answered after a moment. "Harry is not the type of person who likes to be confined with no news of the outside world, and unfortunately that's exactly what we have to do until he gets here. When he comes is up to Dumbledore."

"Have you been able to talk to him?" Danny asked curiously.

"A bit," Sirius said with a humorless chuckle. "I don't think Harry likes the small messages we send though. We can't include anything of importance obviously, in case the owls are intercepted, but I've been trying to give him advice and such...ironic coming from me, though. He's probably getting a good laugh out of my warnings to not do anything rash. Far too much like my reckless behavior."

"You? Reckless?" Danny gasped, though unable to keep the smirk off his face.

"Cheeky brat," Sirius muttered with a small laugh. "Good night."

"Night," Danny mumbled as he reached his bedroom. Sirius clapped a hand on his shoulder briefly and nodded his head with a small smile before retreating towards the stairway.

Danny opened the door gingerly, scoping out the room. He saw Ron getting ready for bed, and quickly looked away from him, not wanting to get into a shouting match with him. Almost immediately after looking away from the redhead, he could practically feel an angry gaze on his back. Ignoring this feeling, Danny made his way to his desk, where his journal and bracelet lay. Remembering guiltily that he had been in the middle of a conversation with Jazz when he stormed out, he opened the journal to his conversation, finding new entries from Jazz.

_'Look, just try to get along with them. You just have to last the summer, and then you'll be home with us. You've faced much worse than moody teenagers; I think you'll be fine. Who would you rather deal with: Ron or the Crate Creep?'_

_'Really? Is it that hard of a choice?'_

_'Are you still there?'_

_'I'm gonna guess you left then. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye, little brother.'_

'It's the Box Ghost,' Danny corrected automatically. 'And as long as Ron doesn't start ranting about corrugated cardboard or start shouting "Beware!" I'll definitely take him over the Box Ghost,' Danny wrote, chancing a look over at Ron, who was climbing into bed. Ron now seemed to be steadfastly ignoring him.

'Sorry I just left you hanging, I had to go clear my head, and I forgot to put the bracelet on  
Danny tapped his pencil against his chin twice before lowering his hand once more. 'Thanks, Jazz,' Danny wrote before closing his journal. He did not really know what else to say. After changing, he climbed into bed and waited for sleep to claim him.

_~July 10th~_

Danny let out another large yawn, delaying the forkful of breakfast that was on its way to his mouth. He didn't get much sleep the night before as images of exploding Nasty Burgers haunted his dreams. He could not even be mad at Ron for bringing the memory to the front of his mind because he had no way of knowing about Danny's alternate future. At least Danny was used to lack of sleep, so other than the constant yawning throughout breakfast, he was fully functioning.

Barely listening as Mrs. Weasley outlined the cleaning plan for the day, Danny just focused on finishing the food on his plate. He would just follow the group after lunch to wherever they would be cleaning that afternoon.

Something was moving in front of him. Blinking, Danny focused on a hand waving close to his face. "Can I help you?" he asked, watching as Ginny removed her hand with a smirk.

"You're late for class," she said smartly. It was then that Danny realized that everyone had gotten up from the breakfast table and most had left the room or were on their way out.

"Thanks," he mumbled. He put his fork down on his empty plate but made no other motion to move.

Instead of following everyone out of the room, Ginny sat down next to him. "You okay?" she asked.

Meeting her gaze, Danny saw some concern reflected in her eyes. "Yeah," Danny sighed. "I'm just tired."

Ginny studied him for a moment before getting up. "Ignore Ron, he can be tactless sometimes," she said quietly before walking away.

Danny watched her leave before slowly standing up from his seat. As he made his way back to his room, he went over in his head what he wanted to accomplish that morning. _Alright, so I have two more chapters of Herbology, History of Magic, and Astronomy, and one chapter for everything else. The Defense chapter isn't very long, and neither is Charms. Transfiguration and Potions will probably take longer. I might be able to move on to second year Defense and Charms today,_he mused as he reached his room. Locking the door bolt in place behind him, he took a breath to try and cleanse himself of his exhaustion, and then said, "Going Ghost."

Silver hair, green eyes, and black hazmat suit in place, Danny focused on making his normal six clones to start working. He moved towards his Transfiguration book and opened up the last chapter, but just as he was about to start reading, he noticed something was off.

There were only two other Dannys in the room.

"That's weird," he mumbled to himself. He thought hard about making four more clones, but all he ended up with was an extra head on his own body. "Gah!" he yelled, staring wide eyed at the head on his shoulder. After concentrating hard to rid himself of his extra head, he looked back at the two original clones that were looking back at him with confused gazes.

Danny did not know what was wrong. He had been able to make six clones for the last week and a half, every day, without fail. What was wrong now?

Sure, the first time he made his duplicates that week and a half ago; he was only expecting to make two clones. He was pleasantly surprised to see six pairs of glowing green eyes staring back at him and he did not think too much of the achievement at the time (though he did wish he could have told Sam and Tucker). As the days wore on, he decided not to question it and passed the occurrence off as a growth in his powers. Now however...

"Uhhhh..." Danny turned towards his two clones. "Why don't you start with Herbology, and then halfway through, switch to Astronomy," he started, pointing to the Danny on his right, "and you can work on Defense, and then Charms, and if you have time History of Magic. I guess I work on Transfiguration for the first half, and then Potions. Don't worry about finishing, just do what you can-" Danny was cut off when he let out a large yawn, which his duplicates copied after. As he watched the clones, the gears started turning in Danny's head.

"That's it!" Danny exclaimed, smiling at his clones. "The reason why I can't make more is because I'm _tired_. I haven't been using my ghost powers this whole time except to duplicate, so I had a lot of leftover energy."

"And since I went out flying last night-" the Danny on the right started.

"-And used up a lot of that excess energy-" the left Danny continued.

"-I don't have the leftover energy I used to have to make a bunch of duplicates," the original finished. He looked triumphant for a moment for figuring it out, but he soon slumped down on his bed. "I guess I can't go flying much if I want to keep studying at this pace."

The three Dannys in the room said nothing until the left duplicate said, "Shouldn't we start reading?"

The other two Dannys nodded and the original settled into the pillow on his bed and reopened his Transfiguration book to chapter eleven, the last chapter required for first years to study. It would have been much more satisfying if it was the last chapter in the book, but Danny was only halfway through the book. The other half of the book was covered in year two, according to Professor McGonagall. He was slightly jealous of the Danny who would be finishing Charms. Since the Charms textbook, _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One_, covered the entire year, he would be completely finished with the book.

Much more satisfying.

The original Danny sighed and looked down at his textbook. '_Important to remember when transfiguring complex objects, one must hold of the details of the original form in mind just as explicitly as the details of the transfigured form...'_

Later that night, as the Weasley children and Hermione were playing some sort of exploding card game downstairs, Danny retreated to his room to write to Jazz. Looking down at the last written page, he noticed that Jazz had yet to respond to his last message.

'Jazz?' he wrote, hoping that she was wearing her bracelet. Surprisingly (or maybe not), Jazz responded within the minute.

_'Hi Danny. Oh, sorry, I just put the bracelet on, I didn't see this.'_

'I just wrote your name.'

_'When did you write the rest?'_

'Last night, you might have been at dinner.'

_'Right, sorry. I actually remember the bracelet reacting, but Mom's ecto-cooker went on the fritz again and after that "excitement" I must have forgotten to respond. And I knew it was the Box Ghost! I was just keeping you on your toes!'_ Danny laughed as he read that. _'And stop laughing at me! I know you are!'_Danny bent over the journal, laughing even more. As he recovered, he saw that Jazz had written more.

_'So how's it going so far?'_

'With what?'

_'With getting to know them and Harry!'_

Danny winced, knowing that he had been avoiding doing just that. It would have been easy to say "You're right, Jazz!", close the journal, and go downstairs and actually interact with the young witches and wizards, however interacting with Ron at this point was almost like trying to cooperate with Dash, just without the bullying Danny was not upset about it at all at this point, he just chose not to associate with it. Hermione was yet another reason for Danny to avoid going downstairs. It had now been two days with the bushy-haired witch, and if Danny heard her offer help and tips one more time while they were cleaning, he was going to sic Klemper on her.

'Not yet,' Danny wrote finally.

_'Why not?'_

'One does not simply walk downstairs.'

_'Yes you do, it's really not that difficult. Just ask them a question-'_

'Jazz, it was a joke,' Danny wrote, cutting her off. "'One does not simply walk into Mordor.' One does not simply walk downstairs...get it?" At Jazz's lack of response, Danny sighed, hoping at least Sam or Tucker would have gotten the reference. 'Never mind.'

_'I think that not only does Ron think you're replacing Harry, you also don't want them to replace Sam and Tucker. And maybe you're homesick.'_

Danny turned the page and was about to write something when he paused. Placing his pen on the open journal, he leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Maybe that was part of the issue too. He had not spoken with Sam or Tucker, or his parents, since he was in London.

Before Danny could respond, the door to his room opened very loudly. It was not so much the door that was loud; it was what had opened the door.

"When are those ears going to be ready, Fred?" Ron asked leading the group into the room. Fred followed behind him, then George, followed by Hermione and Ginny.

"Patience, little brother, you can't rush genius," Fred answered sagely.

"They'll be done by the end of the week," George finished.

"Why are you making ears?" Danny dared to ask. Ron almost instantly glared at Danny before making a beeline to his bed, determined not to look at Danny again.

"To listen in on Order meetings," Ginny grinned. "We want to know what's going on in there."

"And how are ears going to help?" Danny continued confused. "You all have ears already."

"They're making a product that works like walkie talkies," Hermione explained. "Normally I'd disapprove, but I'm rather curious as to what those meetings are about as well."

"What's a walkie talkie?" George asked.

"It's the muggle version of what you're making," Hermione explained lightly.

Danny cocked an eyebrow, "That'll work? Why don't you just use a walkie talkie then?"

"Because magic and electricity don't work together," Hermione explained. "It's more pronounced at Hogwarts, because absolutely nothing electronic will work there due to the saturation of magic in the air, but the same is also true here due to the amount of wards and spells cast on the house."

"So _that's_why my cell phone has no service!" Danny explained, slapping his hand to his forehead. He turned back to his journal, and wrote, 'Hey Jazz! I found out why my phone doesn't work! It's because magic and electricity conflict with each other! And there's so much magic in this house that it's messing with my phone.'

"What are you writing in?" Hermione asked, walking towards. "A diary?"

"No, it's a journal-"

"_Huge_difference right there," Ron interrupted sarcastically.

"Danny, it's writing back to you," Hermione frowned, staring at the journal. "It's writing in a different color ink, too."

_"Danny, that is literally the __worst__ change in subject you have __ever__ used,' _Jazz wrote as Hermione looked at the page.

"Where'd you get that?" Ginny frowned, suddenly looking hostile. This worried Danny, as Ginny was one of the few in the household he got along with.

"At Florish and Blotts, when Tonks took me to get my school things," Danny answered quickly, still unnerved by Ginny's pale-faced glare. "I'm using it to keep in contact with my sister. It's a Two-Way Journal, so whatever I write appears in her journal, and whatever she writes appears in mine."

"So the red writing is her writing," Hermione asked, still studying the page. Danny was glad that nothing on the page was..._questionable_, but he was still annoyed by Hermione's prying. "Oh, right, your sister's name is Jazz!"

"What, did you think I would name a diary 'Jazz'?" Danny asked sarcastically, turning back to his journal. Aware of Hermione hovering over his shoulder, he wrote, 'That is not the worst subject change I've ever used. Hermione says 'Hi,' btw,' Danny added, letting his sister know subtly that someone was overlooking their conversation.

_'Hi Hermione! Nice to kind of meet you! (And that counts as another change in subject, little brother!)'_

Hermione chuckled, and moved her hand towards Danny's. "May I?" she asked. Danny shrugged and handed over the pen and let the bushy haired girl write in the journal.

'Nice to meet you too!' she wrote in much neater handwriting than Danny's before handing the pen back to him. "I'll let you talk to your sister," she said before moving to sit with Ginny on the extra bed, which would soon be Harry's.

'She left,' Danny wrote, blocking out the conversation in the room.

_'She seems nice,'_Jazz wrote back quickly.

'Only because I didn't let you two interact more. I don't want these pages filled up with your essays to each other.'

_'Hey! =P' _she wrote, inciting a muffled snort from Danny.

_~July 11th~_

Danny brought his copy of _A Beginner's Guide to_ Transfiguration down to lunch the next day, hoping that Professor McGonagall would be around to answer a question for him. Looking around at the mostly set table, he frowned, not seeing the aged witch among the lunch crowd.

"You're becoming worse than Hermione," Fred snickered, appearing behind him. "Bringing a book to lunch, I don't believe it-"

"What's wrong with wanting to get your work done?" Hermione huffed, mostly in her own defense, though she turned with a kind smile to Danny. "What are you working on?"

"I had a question for Professor McGonagall, but she's not here," Danny shrugged, intending to run the book upstairs before lunch began.

"I can help!" Hermione offered immediately. Danny mentally cringed, but decided he'd rather accept the help now so he'd be able to continue working tomorrow morning.

"Okay," Danny sighed. "Well, it's about the spell to turn beetles into buttons-"

"Danny, that's second year material," Hermione frowned.

"And you're going into fifth year, so you should be able to help. Unless that's too advanced for you," Danny quipped.

Hermione huffed, "Do you want my help or not?" _Don't answer that!_Danny willed himself. "So why are you studying 2nd year Transfiguration?"

"Wow, you're on that already?" Ginny asked. "Are you doing one subject at a time then?"

"No, he's working on all of the subjects," Sirius interjected from his spot at the table. "He's been working on Defense, Charms, and Transfiguration spells. We're starting 2nd year Transfiguration tonight and maybe 2nd year Defense if he gets to that point."

"But Defense Against the Dark Arts doesn't really have that many spells to learn in the earlier years," Ron pointed out. "It's mostly Charms and Transfiguration."

"Which is what my practical classes have focused on," Danny interrupted. "So it's really not that big of a deal that I'm that far in those classes." Danny conveniently left out that he was just as far in his other subjects. "You know what? I think my question has more to do with the application of the spell, so I'll just wait until tonight to ask Sirius."

"What's the question, Danny?" Hermione asked quickly. "I'm sure I can help."

"I'll just ask Sirius tonight, I'm starving." Danny's comment seemed to remind the Weasley boys that they were hungry too, and they strode over to the table just as Mrs. Weasley started laying out food. Danny tried to ignore Hermione's putout look as he joined the table. Maybe if she just minded her own business, she would have been able to help and things would be just fine.

This thought did not quite settle his guilt as he sat beside his godfather and began loading his plate with potatoes.

* * *

**And that's a wrap! For now obviously. I don't know when the next update will be, but it will come eventually, I promise. I haven't let you down yet, have I? (Please don't answer that.)**

**Really though, check out my Tumblr, lots of fun stuff on there! (self-promo *cough*) My username is SadieYuki, as always. I also have a poll about Vlad's involvement in this story on my profile, so check that out too.**

**Reviews are encouraged, and if you have any questions I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for reading!**

**Peace out!  
Sadie**


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